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Rented Mule, The: A Novel (2014)

by Bobby Cole(Favorite Author)

3.6 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1477808604 (ISBN13: 9781477808603)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Thomas & Mercer

review 1: Cooper Dixon's wife is making him crazy. His work is making him crazy. Little does he know that his troubles have not even begun. Someone is systematically setting him up for a very big fall.High scores for the pacing of this novel, particularly during the last third of the book. I truly did not want to stop reading as the story accelerated to the denouement. A couple of the secondary characters were standouts. Maynard, one of the kidnappers, lends a bit of humor with his inexplicable fixation on Larry King and his compulsive use of teeth whitening strips. Likewise, the character of Detective Obermeyer is such an oddball and misfit that special permission had to be obtained for him to work without a partner. He carefully and methodically pieces the clues together t... moreo solve the crime, all the while uttering the phrase "Stand by". There were a couple of things with which I take issue. Cooper is the workhorse at the ad agency of which he is a partner, yet he is just this side of being computer illiterate. This makes no sense to me at all, it does not compute, as it were. Other reviewers have mentioned the same quibble, but I'm noting it as well because it seems to me a sizeable gaff. Something else that did not ring true to me was the 180 degree turnaround of feelings between Cooper and his wife. It made for rather too pat of an ending. Even so, I enjoyed the book, and liked how the title worked into the story in several aspects.This was a Kindle First offering.
review 2: I got this book for free with the Kindle First program. It was definitely an easy, relatively quick read. The story was engaging, but also felt very choppy. We are led through the mystery of Cooper Dixon being framed for the kidnapping of his wife, without any obvious reason why he is being set up. The story bounces back and forth every chapter to the storyline of each character in the book - Cooper, his business partner, the kidnappers, the mysterious client, the detective, Cooper's love interest, and the four kidnappers... Which meant there was a LOT of bouncing! The choppiness of the book became taxing after awhile because I just wanted the story to continue. Instead, the story took awhile to progress because of bouncing from everyone's perspectives, and also felt a bit contrived. When you finally learn the identity of the mysterious client, the events that ensue are pretty far out of the realm of reality. Everything is wrapped up in a nice little package by the end of the book... A little too nicely. I'd recommend the book if you want an easy, light read. But don't expect anything revolutionary. less

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