The Taking of Libbie, SD (Twin Cities P.I. Mac McKenzie Novels) - Hardcover

Housewright, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312559968 ISBN 13: 9780312559960

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2010

Synopsis

In David Housewright's The Taking of Libbie, SD, a grifter cons an entire town using Mac McKenzie’s name, leaving the real McKenzie facing an angry town with nothing left to lose.

 

Rushmore McKenzie is a retired cop, an unexpected millionaire, and an occasional unlicensed private investigator. So, it isn’t the biggest surprise in the world when he’s attacked and kidnapped from his home—McKenzie has more than a few enemies out there with a grudge against him. But it is a surprise when it turns out his kidnapping is a case of mistaken identity.

McKenzie was taken to the small plains town of Libbie, South Dakota which just lost pretty much everything it had to a con man using McKenzie’s name. Using a scam involving a new shopping mall, the grifter apparently stole all the money electronically from the bank then disappeared, leaving behind a devastated town full of people with many reasons to hate him. To that list of enemies, he’s just added McKenzie who is now determined to help the devastated townspeople, as well as catch and punish the weasel besmirching his reputation.

About this title

About the Author

DAVID HOUSEWRIGHT has been a journalist, an advertising copywriter, a creative director, and a writing instructor. He won both the Edgar award and the Minnesota Book award for his crime fiction. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Reviews

Edgar-winner Housewright nicely confounds readers' expectations in his absorbing seventh hard-boiled mystery featuring ex-cop and millionaire Rushmore McKenzie (after 2009's Jelly's Gold). After two men abduct McKenzie from his St. Anthony, Minn., home, and transport him to the small town of Libbie, S.D., McKenzie learns he's wanted for a scam that threatens Libbie's financial future. He's soon able to establish that a con man adopted his identity—and agrees, instead of suing, to help attractive city council member Tracie Blake track down the grifter. McKenzie, who comes to believe that the criminal must have had help from the inside, begins to make enemies with his inquiries. In addition, he must fend off come-ons from several locals and solve a double murder that may be related to the imposter's plot. Crisp prose and clever plot developments help the chapters fly by and should win this deserving author a wider audience. Greg Iles fans will be pleased. (June)
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Housewright jumps right into the story in his seventh Rushmore McKenzie mystery: it opens with two men breaking into McKenzie's Minnesota house, zapping him with a Taser, throwing him into the trunk of a car, and transporting him several hundred miles to, of all places, Libbie, South Dakota. Once there, they discover they have the wrong guy: they're looking for a con man who used McKenzie's name and identity to bilk the town of Libbie out of a lot of money. Believe it or not—and McKenzie can scarcely believe it—the abductors then ask the abductee to help them out by finding the con man and bringing him to justice. McKenzie, who describes himself as a “knight-errant doing favors for friends” (he's a retired cop with a lot of money so he doesn't need a day job), makes a fine series lead, charmingly unlikable in a likable sort of way, and the stories are solid mysteries with a hint of humor. A very enjoyable series that deserves a wider audience. --David Pitt

Edition details

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312559968
• ISBN 13: 9780312559960
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320