Dead Men Don't Dance (Charlie Plato Mysteries) - Hardcover

Chittenden, Margaret

3.44

72 ratings by Goodreads

9781575661841: Dead Men Don't Dance (Charlie Plato Mysteries)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1575661845 ISBN 13: 9781575661841

Publisher: Kensington Books, 1997

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Divorce+a7e Charlie Plato, manager of a country-western nightclub, turns detective when Zack Hunter, a handsome ex-TV heartthrob running for City Council, becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his political opponent, who turns up dead in the trunk of Zack's new car.

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From Kirkus Reviews:

Better cast your vote for Bellamy Park (Cal.) Town Council early--the field of candidates is narrowing fast. The first hopeful to drop out is Bellamy Park Bank President Gerald Senerac, a perennial cold fish (his one issue: the town's crying need for more shopping malls) who's become even colder and stiffer since he's been riding around in the trunk of his opponent Zack Hunter's new car. The police would like to pull Zack, a former TV star who played everybody's favorite small-town cop, out of the race and into prison; but the next candidate to retire from competition is Opal Quince, who wasn't even running in the same race. Charlie Plato, Zack's campaign manager and partner in a country-western tavern, figures his name recognition will make him a shoo-in if only she can keep him out of stir. But Zack's got even more motives than political rivalry with Senerac, as he reveals when he proffers his alibi: He was spending the night with the stiff's gorgeous wife. (Other victims of the irresistible Hunter charm include drugstore fan Adorin' Lauren Deakins, medical office manager Mary Grace Nolan, and--well, you get the idea.) Looks like Charlie will have to elude the second- best embraces of buffed, amorous gym-owner Marsh Pollock long enough to dig into Zack's past and come up with the hoary true motive, and a nicely hidden killer. Charlie's second (Dying to Sing, not reviewed) delivers the authentic, if minor, pleasures of the stand-by-your-man formula. -- Copyright �1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Booklist:

Charlie Plato, a 31-year-old divorcee, is a business partner in a country-and-western dance hall with television actor Zack Hunter. Plato is also managing Hunter, a mix of Robert Redford and Bill Clinton, in a nasty election race for city council in upscale Bellamy Park, near San Francisco. When Zack's opponent turns up dead in the trunk of Zack's car, guess who is the prime suspect? Zack's murky past and bad alibi don't help matters, compelling Charlie to find the killer. After a slow start in which Charlie must carry the load alongside a cast of vapid, image-obsessed characters, Chittenden picks up the pace, tightens the dialogue, and hurtles Charlie and Zack to a surprising ending with unexpected villains. With an appealing female sleuth, this is a series to watch. John Rowen

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