Prodigal Logic: A Ray Gabriel Floating Home Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Prodigal Logic
Review: ...Paul Petrucci has written a cleverly, masterful murder mystery that
will keep you guessing to the very end. Armed only with a
list of suspects, a vast array of facts, and a computer program he's
basing his reputation on, Ray Fielding will astound you,
amuse you, and guide you through a labyrinth of clues that, in the end,
will have you shaking your head, wondering why you
hadn't guessed sooner. The author doesn't hit you over the head with
the answer, rather he leads you through shadows, twists
and turns until the answer is revealed.
Four stars for the creativity and imagination of this story, as well
as a very cleverly written plot, and extremely believable and
well rounded characters. There wasn't a flaw to be found.
Prodigal Logic is a must read for a lover of complicated mysteries,
and diverse characters.

Shadoe Simmons

Rating:
Summary: PRODIGAL LOGIC: A Ray Gabriel Floating Home Mystery
Review: A five star puzzle in a class by itself, Paul Petrucci's Prodigal Logic has
it all. Ray Gabriel is writing a software program that will teach a computer
to reason. Ray lives on a houseboat, and when he's stumped he kayaks to
shore for a walk on the University of Washington Campus to think. He
witnesses Father Peter's fall from the gargoyle atop the University
Cathedral. Ray doesn't believe in religion; it isn't logical, but to
complete his program Ray needs the help of an expert in psychology and
belief systems. He seeks an appointment with Dr. Dexter, a professor at the
University. Ray doesn't need to complicate his life with romance, but the
way to Dr. Dexter is through his assistant, Zelda; Miriam Towson is in
charge of the restoration work on the Cathedral, and Ray's wife, Regina, has
left him for a house on a firmer foundation, but would like Ray to join her.

Ray becomes embroiled in the investigation into the deaths, desecrations and
black masses in and just outside the cathedral. When he meets Dr. Dexter,
they become adversaries in a duel of egos. Dr. Dexter will write a story and
Ray will win only if his computer program can solve it. Ray names his
program Sherlock-in-a-Box and begins keying in "thumbrules," Conan Doyle
rules-of-thumb as used by Sherlock Holmes. Ray tries to solve the University
Cathedral crimes using Sherlock-in-a-Box and then he and Dexter face off.

Paul Petrucci is a master author of mystery, character and plot tension. His
research and professionalism is apparent in his five star mystery, Prodigal
Logic, whetting the reader's appetite for the next "Ray Gabriel Floating
Home Mystery."

Reviewed 5/2002 by Evelyn Gale©

Rating:
Summary: Cool new way to use your laptop
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I "burned" through it in two days and definately enjoyed the plot twists and turns in the last few chapters. As a computer professional myself I have toyed with expert systems in the past and gave thought to what the next step might look like. Very nice.

Rating:
Summary: Cool new way to use your laptop
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I "burned" through it in two days and definately enjoyed the plot twists and turns in the last few chapters. As a computer professional myself I have toyed with expert systems in the past and gave thought to what the next step might look like. Very nice.

Rating:
Summary: A murder associated with possible Satanic cults
Review: Paul Petrucci actually lives in a floating home, close to the University of Washington campus. He is an Information Technologist for his day job, and writes mysteries at night. Prodigal Logic is his first mystery.

Ray Gabriel is the author of "Sherlock-in-a-Box," a software program that solves mysteries. He is trying to gain enough funding to launch his own company with Sherlock. But his involvement and attempted rescue of a priest who falls to his death at the campus Cathedral propels Ray into the middle of a murder investigation including a suspicious psychology professor, Dr. Julius Dexter; his nubile secretary, Zelda; a cathedral engineer in the person of Miriam Towson, who is beautiful and has a past she refuses to divulge; and some odd Satanic activity surrounding the cathedral. Ray and his program are enlisted to solve the mystery of Father Peter's fall, but not before he is dragged into a war of wits with Dr. Dexter:

"Regaining his composure and his ferret's smile, Wordsmith/Dexter said, 'I'm putting the final touches on a short story I've written. What do you say, Ray, to a friendly challenge? I'll put my mystery story against your computer program, and may the best man win.' 'Delightful!' Said Father Aquilino. 'Zelda and I can act as referees.'"

Ray finds himself in the middle of the most illogical of human situations: a murder that is associated with possible Satanic cults; two women who are involved in their own nebulous relationships with Dr. Dexter; the actions and personalities of the priests themselves; and a contest Dr. Dexter devises to play with Ray himself. Ray pushes himself to make "Sherlock's" sleuthing more sophisticated, even as he places himself in more than one kind of danger.

Prodigal Logic is an excellent first mystery, written around the tenets of Sherlock Holmes' mysteries. Petrucci uses the most illogical of human conditions to fit a scientific protagonist.. Indeed, Petrucci does a wonderful job of combining contradictions to make a plot with enough twists and turns to confuse even the most skillful reader. A great read!

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: An entertaing cozy
Review: Prodigal Logic is the American-style Sherlock Holmes mystery. It is the type of novel Sir Arthur Connan Doyle could appreciate, being full of clues and logical deductions.



Imagine a computer that isn't perfect, but thinks more like man. Ray Gabriel is close to creating breakthrough software that will use certain criteria to establish logical thinking patterns, the way humans might. However, before the software design is complete, Gabriel witnesses the death of a priest and the church insists on using the "Sherlock-in-a-box" program to help find out if the priest's death was a an accident, or murder.



The church cathedral may house more than Catholics. Black Mass performed by Satanists is alleged. Though no one seems to be hiding anything, Gabriel struggles to find answers to plug in with the right questions so that his computer can lead him closer to the truth and nearly everyone he's come in contact with seems suspect.



Like any good mystery, Prodigal Logic mixes up the elements. The main and sub stories are each engaging and well paced. Aside from religion and atheism, there is clever reasoning and genuine mystery solving involved. Developed characters and seemingly seamless plot, Prodigal Logic is entertaining and amusing with enough action and suspense to make this cozy a wonderful read.


--Phillip Tomasso III, author of Johnny Blade & Third Ring

Rating:
Summary: An entertaing cozy
Review: Prodigal Logic is the American-style Sherlock Holmes mystery. It is the type of novel Sir Arthur Connan Doyle could appreciate, being full of clues and logical deductions.



Imagine a computer that isn't perfect, but thinks more like man. Ray Gabriel is close to creating breakthrough software that will use certain criteria to establish logical thinking patterns, the way humans might. However, before the software design is complete, Gabriel witnesses the death of a priest and the church insists on using the "Sherlock-in-a-box" program to help find out if the priest's death was a an accident, or murder.



The church cathedral may house more than Catholics. Black Mass performed by Satanists is alleged. Though no one seems to be hiding anything, Gabriel struggles to find answers to plug in with the right questions so that his computer can lead him closer to the truth and nearly everyone he's come in contact with seems suspect.



Like any good mystery, Prodigal Logic mixes up the elements. The main and sub stories are each engaging and well paced. Aside from religion and atheism, there is clever reasoning and genuine mystery solving involved. Developed characters and seemingly seamless plot, Prodigal Logic is entertaining and amusing with enough action and suspense to make this cozy a wonderful read.


--Phillip Tomasso III, author of Johnny Blade & Third Ring

Rating:
Summary: Original mystery with a likable sleuth
Review: Ray Gabriel, narrator of PRODIGAL LOGIC, has very firm opinions on the subject of what makes sense and what doesn't. Ray is certain about the things of which he is certain - so certain, in fact, that it doesn't take long for the reader to become suspicious. It's hard to miss the fact that Ray only becomes involved in a suspicious death because he'd happened to wander into a Catholic cathedral to do some thinking, and thus was on hand when the trouble started. It's also interesting that he was thinking about was a program for artificial intelligence, and that he'd just had the "eureka moment" of realizing that pure logic could never replicate human thought. What his program needs is a belief system. No sooner has he realized this than sudden death distracts him from his research.

PRODIGAL LOGIC is a charming mystery, and Ray Gabriel is an attractive sleuth. He protests entirely too much about his love of logic, all the while becoming involved with a mysterious woman who reminds him of his ex-wife, helping investigate a bizarre death at the cathedral, looking for traces of cult activity in Seattle, and trying to insert the logic of Sherlock Holmes into his artificial intelligence program (known as Sherlock-In-A-Box.) There are two major sleuths in this story: Ray doing the legwork, and Sherlock who is supposed to put all the pieces together. Although Ray claims that "a fact is a fact" and says he believes only in rational thought, when Sherlock reaches logical conclusions that Ray can't accept he is not above tinkering with the program. The fact that he doesn't seem to see a contradiction in this is characteristic of his personality. It certainly makes him a more interesting guy to read about than he thinks he is.

The supporting cast is good fun, too - Ray finds himself hanging around with an expert in church architecture, befriending a likable priest, and sharing Sherlock with a zealous old priest who wants to teach it to program appropriate penances. There is a flaky psychic, a weird poet, a really unusual support group, and assorted minor characters and hangers-on who, for the most part, act and talk like real people. Considering the complexity of the plot, which involves puzzles, church desecrations, and a very old crime, it's surprising how seldom Petrucci pushed my "Yeah-right" button. I was especially taken with the little moments, notably the interactions between characters. There is an art to writing clever dialogue that sounds like real people are uttering it, and Petrucci has that art. He is also extremely good at presenting a picture of a preoccupied character who is capable of forgetting all about his plans with his girlfriend when presented with an interesting problem, and who seems concerned about the feelings of the people around him even while he's being rather dense about his own.

For a novel that incorporates computer science, math, psychology, and religion, PRODIGAL LOGIC is surprisingly easy to follow, even though I have no deep knowledge about any of those subjects. This isn't a mystery for experts in esoteric matters, it's a mystery for ordinary readers who like their protagonists human and uncertain, their mysteries a little unusual.

Rating:
Summary: Clever computer-aged twist on the murder mystery
Review: This is a really clever book. Basically a murder mystery, the plot impressed me by all the directions it eventually took. Just when I thought I had my finger on the story, it went in another direction. The author obviously is well-read on many arcane subjects, as evidenced by the detail he provides on topics ranging from Catholicism, Philosophy, History, Sherlock Holmes, Architecture, Logic and Computer Programming, not to mention the culture and sights of Seattle. Whew. Yeah, there's your typical romance, sex and blood going on as well, but after all, it IS a murder mystery. The characters are all quirky and well defined. If you like mysteries, strange situations, adventure and character-interaction, it's safe to say you would enjoy this book.