an interesting blend of humor and pathos ( )

Delightful hero, witty dialogue and a quick moving story ( )

You'd have to say Teddy Ruzak is highly effective because he does always solve the crime, of course surpassing the skills of the local police department. And if he spent his free time studying for the private investigator's licensing exam then the plot wouldn't be very interesting. But as it is, Ruzak's existential introspection - which comprises the bulk of every conversation - is mildly amusing in its digressions but not fascinating. His investigation takes up only a few pages of text and the dog isn't really that important. Besides, what's going to happen if he doesn't pass that exam - won't that be a series-ender? It's going to take a pretty big deus ex machina for him to keep his practice open in the already-published third title in the series. And I guess I'll never know, because as much as I want to like the series it just isn't sufficiently engaging to keep reading. ( )

I really enjoyed Richard Yancey's first novel in this series (The Highly Effective Detective), but this second entry just didn't measure up for me. Teddy Ruzak is no longer allowed to practice as a private detective because he has not passed the state licensing exam. Nevertheless, when he discovers the body of a homeless man outside his office window, he feels obligated to pursue the case. The police verify that the man was murdered, but solving the crime doesn't seem very high on their list of priorities. Teddy also has to deal with the attentions of Amanda, a younger girl who is definitely interested in him, while Teddy himself seems to have lots of unresolved feelings for his former secretary Felicia (even though she supposedly has a boyfriend). What I didn't like about this novel is that Teddy spent way too much time ruminating on the nature of life. Teddy's ruminations just didn't mix well with the mystery format, at least not for me. All in all, not a bad novel, but hopefully Teddy's philosophical musings will be toned down in the next series entry. ( )