Mon 10 Dec 2018
A PI Review by Barry Gardner: ROBERT J. RANDISI – Stand-Up.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[2] Comments
ROBERT J. RANDISI – Stand-Up. Miles Jacoby #6. Walker, hardcover, 1994. Perfect Crime, softcover, 2012.
Miles Jacoby is at a crossroads in his PI career. One of the best PI’s in New York is offering him a partnership, and he’s tempted. Before he can finalize a decision, though, two cases pop us. One involves a stand-up comedian who thinks someone has stolen all his jokes, and the other a strongarm friend who’s involved in some way in a gangster’s murder. Jacoby finds himself bouncing back and forth between them, and both of them generate bodies and blood.
Before I say anything more, let me say this: I wish to hell that crime writers would either quit trying to use microcomputers as part of their plots, or get someone who knows something about them to check the manuscripts. I am so tired of their fuck-ups I could just scream. Don’t they realize that there are enough people out there now who are computer-literate that they can’t get away with it? Pfui. Bah.
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I can say that this was a typical Randisi book — breezy, facile, competent, lots of snappy dialogue, fast-moving. I like Jacoby as a character, and the supporting cast too. The plot has a pulpy feel to it this time; not that that’s necessarily bad, you understand, but I seem to remember earlier books having a little more depth.
Easy, pleasant reading, but it’s nothing you’ll remember a week later. I always have the feeling Randisi could do a lot better if he’s just take the time.
The Miles Jacoby novels —
Eye in the Ring (1982)
The Steinway Collection (1983)
Full Contact (1984)
Separate Cases (1990)
Hard Look (1993)
Stand Up (1994)
December 10th, 2018 at 6:12 pm
More of a fan of author and character, but on the whole I agree. I liked this one, it was breezy and a little pulpy, and I was in the mood for both.
I wonder if writers have gotten better with computers?
December 10th, 2018 at 7:40 pm
I enjoyed all of the Jacoby books I read. I always wished Randisi had written more of them. But of all things, I don’t remember reading this one. It was at a time of my life that if a book didn’t come out in paperback. I probably didn’t even know about it.