Oops!: A Nudger Mystery - Hardcover

Lutz, John

3.6

50 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312181523 ISBN 13: 9780312181529

Publisher: St Martins Press, 1998

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Acquiring a sexy novice P.I. associate along the way, veteran sleuth Alo Nudger is investigating the not-so-mysterious death of Betty Almer when his client, Mr. Almer, unexpectedly dies in a suspicious house fire

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About the Author:

John Lutz's work includes political suspense, private eye novels, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective, thriller; virtually every mystery sub-genre. He is the author of more than forty novels and over 200 short stories and articles. His novels and short fiction have been translated into almost every language and adapted for almost every medium. He is a past president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. Among his awards are the MWA Edgar, the PWA Shamus, the Trophee 813 Award for best mystery short story collection translated into the French language, the PWA Life Achievement Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the author of two private eye series, the Alo Nudger series, set in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Carver series, set in Florida, as well as many non-series novels. The two series have garnered their share of awards. Both What You Don't Know Can Hurt You won a Shamus for Best Private Eye Short Story and Ride the Lightning nabbed an Edgar for Best Short Story in 1985. His novel SWF SEEKS SAME was made into the hit movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel THE EX was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay. When Lutz isn't writing, he's reading, following baseball, dining out with friends, or going to movies or plays. Lutz and his wife, Barbara, split their time between St. Louis and Sarasota, Florida. His latest book is the suspense novel Mister X. Praise for John Lutz "Lutz's plotting here has a stark, unusual, genuinely disturbing curve to it—making this another Nudgeresque blend of strong action, lean atmosphere, and downbeat personality." —Kirkus (Dancer's Debt) "...[Lutz] deserves high marks for another intriguing glimpse into the unusual world of Alo Nudger, a uniquely warm and thoroughly disheveled detective." —Booklist (Dancer's Debt) "Lutz's economy of language and well-timed suspense work very well in this tale... A taut mystery recommended for all active collections." —Booklist (Ride the Lightning) "Lutz does an excellent job here... keeping the story complicated and varied but never losing the reader in red herrings or distracting minutiae." —Publishers Weekly (Nightlines)

From Kirkus Reviews:

Though he's been resting up ever since Thicker Than Blood (1993), St. Louis shamus Alo Nudger has to be dragged into helping colleague Lacy Tumulty investigate the accidental death (a tumble down a flight of steps) of bank loan officer Betty Almermaybe because Lacy's at least equally interested in a role-playing fantasy in which Nudger, still happily unmarried to teacher Claudia Bettencourt, climbs in through Lacy's bedroom window and gets stripped of everything but his ski mask. Then Lacy's attacked by a knife-wielding goon, and Nudger's unhappily in for a pound. But he doesn't have to worry about disappointing Lacy's client, Betty's father Loren Almer, because all too soon Almer burns to the ground in his house, leaving only well-insured Betty's fianc Brad Millman standing. Then, five months later, Brad dies in a one-car crash; a new client phoning Nudger in fear of her life is electrocuted by a hair dryer before he can return her call; and Nudger is left wondering how many accidents it'll take to get the attention of old friend Lt. Jack Hammersmith. There's nothing surprising about the solution, or even about Nudger's detective work, which mostly consists of repeated doses of B&E; but once she's recuperated, Lacy is a formidably giddy companion for stolid Nudger, who also manages to come up with a welcome new use for stale doughnuts. Lutz's real gift, though, is to evoke the humdrum poetry of detective work better than anyone else. -- Copyright �1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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