Making a Killing

Rating:
Summary: Guaranteed to Entertain
Review: (...)

In Making a Killing, Dunford's character of Mitchell Draper is an openly gay writer. Various sub-plots within the novel revolve around this fact much as they would around any other character's traits in any other novel. The topical challenge posed here is not so much to the reader, as to the writer. Dunford has suceeded in escaping the confines of sub-genre writing ("Oooh - a gay detective story set in Toronto") and instead has written an engrossing and entertaining murder mystery which doesn't shy away from its protagonist's potentially controversial sexual orientation: but instead encapsulates it into the story without allowing it to overwhelm the larger plot.

The result is a great pot-boiler, set in the familiar confines of Toronto which manages to entertain the reader while slyly taking shots at the culture of the artist - film, print and visual- as it wends its way through the intricacies of a murder mystery. The writing is evocative, the story solid, and the plot just convoluted enough to pique the casual reader's interest. All told, this novel is a great read that rewards the avid reader with page after page of dry wit and sly asides. Dunford's authorial voice is casual, charming and yet to the point, moving the story along sharply.

While the book is no doubt destined for controversy either from Gay Activists arguing that he cheated on the love scenes to placate an "uptight straight audience" or from straight Conservatives complaining that he emphasized his character's sexual orientation too much; the real attention should centre on the quality of Dunford's writing. In MAKING A KILLING Dunford has managed to craft a new focus into an existing genre without playing it for shock value and for that he should be recognized (and thanked). MAKING A KILLING should be (and can be) on everbody's reading list.

Rating:
Summary: 'Sequel' better than original
Review: In this story, Mitchell Draper worries that his friend Ramir has joined a cult. And he does not trust that Ingrid's ex-husband is really worth her time. He also has a new friend, Cortland, a man he is helping to finish a photographic/architecural book. And in the middle of it all, Mitchell starts having a recurring dream--that comes to him like a screenplay--about a dark figure leaning over him. This leads him to visit a psychic, and eventually puts him in a tricky situation as he tries to prove that a crime that occurred twenty years earlier was not what everyone believed. It keeps you guessing, and is rather anti-climatic--but the author, in a very subtle way, redeems himself by...(NO! I will not say.)

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully entertaining and hilarious mystery
Review: In this wildly entertaining sequel to "Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture", we catch up with Mitch Draper, a struggling (and gay) screenwriter in Toronto, as he investigates a bizarre high-society murder-suicide case from the 1970s as potential research for a script. His friends Ramir and Ingrid each have their own tumultuous lives, and Mitch's investigation into long-buried secrets stirs up more than he bargained for, and ultimately affects the lives of himself and his friends. And could Mitch have finally found love with the gorgeous movie company executive from Los Angeles, or is the handsome stranger hiding something as well? Dunford's second book is superbly written, thoroughly engrossing, and filled with hilarity, twists, and hijinks. Combining sex, celebrities, violence, and a touch of the supernatural, "Making A Killing" is the perfect mix.

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying Literary Meal
Review: Like preparing a fine meal, Dunford sets forth characters in this delicious novel like ingredients in a recipe. And, just as you are not quite sure how each ingredient comes together, Dunford combines them to create a novel into which you can really "sink your teeth".

What's more, Dunford adds a teaspoon of humor and a dash of emotion and spices it up with good ol' fashioned scandal. All in all, a very satisfying literary meal.

Rating:
Summary: A contemporary urban romp--great fun
Review: Mitchell Draper has lost his job working for a children's television series and is looking at a career in the children's ghetto of scriptwriting. With a month before his next job starts, he decides to write the perfect blockbuster screenplay. The only problem is, he doesn't have a story. Visiting his friend Ramir's guru doesn't give him any ideas but it does unleash a strange vision. That vision eventually leads him to investigate a decades-old murder-suicide--or was it a double-murder.

MAKING A KILLING explores the gay and artistic communities of Toronto, Canada. Mitchell is a great character, filled with angst about his future, yet concerned about his friends as well. The concept of a movie script driving the mystery forward works, motivating Mtchell to continue his investigation despite the increasing threats he faces.

Talented author Warren Dunford combines a light, humorous touch with a real sense of the urban 30-something artistic community and enough mystery to keep the story interesting. While you may guess the killer's identity, the Dunford does a great job rolling out the clues and both foreshadowing and obscuring the full story behind the twin deaths. I found myself laughing and reading segments to my wife--something that doesn't happen enough.

Rating:
Summary: Great sequel, can't wait for a third installment
Review: The Publisher's Weekly review can't be improved upon. It's accurate and wonderfully written. I would just add that you really need to read Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture before Making a Killing. While the plots have very little to do with each other, Dunford doesn't waste much breath on back story as he spends his words in the sequel on developing an intricate plot and new characters such as Cortland McPhee. To be properly enchanted with the main characters, Mitchell, Ingrid, and Ramir, one should first enjoy Soon To Be, and then the sequel will be that much more delightful. Readers who enjoy Warren Dunford's books would also like Misadventures in the 213 and Sex Toys of the Gods. I hope Warren Dunford writes another!

Rating:
Summary: Great sequel, can't wait for a third installment
Review: The Publisher's Weekly review can't be improved upon. It's accurate and wonderfully written. I would just add that you really need to read Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture before Making a Killing. While the plots have very little to do with each other, Dunford doesn't waste much breath on back story as he spends his words in the sequel on developing an intricate plot and new characters such as Cortland McPhee. To be properly enchanted with the main characters, Mitchell, Ingrid, and Ramir, one should first enjoy Soon To Be, and then the sequel will be that much more delightful. Readers who enjoy Warren Dunford's books would also like Misadventures in the 213 and Sex Toys of the Gods. I hope Warren Dunford writes another!

Rating:
Summary: Finally a contemporary murder mystery without the cliches
Review: This is the sequel to Soon to be a Major Motion Picture in which our hero, Mitchell Draper, faced with writer's block finds a screen play in the "real-life" story of an unsolved murder in a Rosedale mansion. Rosedale is a ritzy area in Toronto, Canada. We also learn more about Mitchell, Ingrid and Ramir as well as other fascinating characters. This is another funny, witty, page-turner by Warren Dunford.