HEY, SCOTT — YOU LEFT OUT THE PART WHERE I TURN WATER INTO WINE.

Scott Coffman is the book reviewer for the Louisville Courier Journal. His reviews for my first three books read like they were written by my adoring family — except for the fact that my family doesn’t adore me nearly as much.

Then along comes his review for Cut, Paste, Kill. It’s so glowing that at first I was almost embarrassed to reprint it.

Then I thought — am I out of my freaking mind? Commerce trumps humility, so here it is:

BOOK REVIEW | 'CUT, PASTE, KILL'
WISECRACKING DUO CRACK THEIR CASES

BY SCOTT COFFMAN • SPECIAL TO THE COURIER-JOURNAL • JUNE 26, 2010

This outstanding fourth chapter in the canon of Detectives Lomax and Biggs provides further proof of the indisputable: Marshall Karp writes the funniest dialogue in the detective genre. If you have not yet read the Lomax and Biggs books, you simply must start.

Repulsive killers find themselves sacrificed under identical circumstances; two in Los Angeles and one in Oregon. Lomax and Biggs -- the jauntily bantering duo at the heart of this winning series -- join forces with the FBI to attempt to solve these cases. All the victims were murdered similarly, and were left with a detailed scrapbook that recounted their lives and crimes, from which they escaped prosecution for various reasons.

Evidence in one case leads to a Chinese restaurant, and the owner eventually describes for the police artist a woman who turns out to be actress Betty White (turns out the older owner is a Golden Girls fan and most old white women look alike to her). Lomax and Biggs have a field day cracking wise about that identification, just as they do with most every other aspect of the case.

Despite the humor, they really are good detectives. After a great story and the introduction of many memorable characters (and some terrific red herrings) the case is successfully solved: The fun is getting there.

On the home front, Big Jim Lomax (Mike's dad) has partnered with Terry Biggs to work on a screenplay that is all the funnier because it reasonably sounds like a project that might be pursued in Hollywood despite sounding plain old bad. Mike makes fun of the project throughout the book, but is it because he is truly amused or is he perhaps jealous that Terry is spending time with his Dad? Near the end this ill-advised movie project provides a line that surprised me with such joy that I literally fell on the floor laughing.

As with all the books in this series, the major and incidental characters are lovingly created and memorably drawn. Author Marshall Karp is an exceptional wordsmith. The storytelling is so entertaining that it demands that you read just one more page and then another until you realize you've finished the book.

With series titles, I normally recommend starting with the first book, but "Cut, Paste, Kill" would be the perfect introduction to this addictive series: The repartee crackles with great humor, the characterizations are vivid, the narrative flow impeccable, and you'll be stunned by the triple-twist at the end. It's a perfect example of what makes this series great.

With Lomax and Biggs, author Marshall Karp has created a pair of detectives who will be long remembered with the great creations of the genre, and you would be wise to join the bandwagon. This is a great starting point.

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Here’s the link to the review. If you know anyone who has a beach read in their future, please share it.

Thank you for supporting my life of crime.

Marshall posted on June 28, 2010 7:55 AM