Some Like It Hot-Buttered

by Jeffrey Cohen

[kentholloway]

This was my first Jeffrey Cohen book and let me tell you, I couldn't have been more satisfied with it. First of all, as far as mysteries go...it was a good one. As a matter of fact, it had two or three different good ones in it. I figured out some stuff. Was totally surprised at others. And it followed my own steadfast rule that all the necessary clues be present in the book before the solution.

But this book was more than just a great mystery...it was a fantastic comedy as well. Mr. Cohen has a great sense of humor. The narrator (it's told in first person) is witty at his cores and there were definite laugh-out-loud moments in some of the things he says through the course of the investigation. What's more, often books like this tend to try a little too hard. They lose sight of what they are. Is it a mystery or is it a comedy? In this book, Mr. Cohen did a fantastic job balancing the two. I never got the impression that this book was a comedy first. It was most definitely a mystery. But it just happened to have the perfect amount of humor poured on top like a dollop of hot butter over an incredibly tasting bag of theater popcorn.

Well done, Mr. Cohen. On to book 2 for me!