Rating: 
Summary: Closing Time fails to live up to its potential
Review: (...)The characterizations of his music-critic friend Diddio and Tilt-a-Whirl bar owner friend are also intriguing. However, the two-separate-plot mystery never seems to mesh well with the other main theme of the novel, Orr's relationship with his daughter Bella and his mourning of his dead wife Marina. I never got a clear sense of why he chose to investigate the taxi driver's murder, and the murderer's relationship with troubled teen Andre seems hastily assembled and contrived. I also agree with the other reviewers that Orr's relationship with his late wife is just too perfect to be believed, and the letters to her are distracting and annoying. Last, perhaps it's just me and the fact that I know few children of that age, but as much as I enjoyed the character of Bella (and wished several times that the book had been about HER instead of her father), she seems older than twelve to me. Maybe 14 would be a bit more accurate. All in all, it's an intriguing debut, but with a few too many loose ends to make the book as cohesive as it could have been.
Rating:
Summary: Tries too hard
Review: Fusilli has the chops to write well, but in reading this book you get a sense of an inferiority complex, that he's trying oh-sooooooo hard to impress the reader, impress his editor, and impress upon himself that he can really write a novel. This is his first novel, so I suppose he should accordingly get some slack. But be prepared for some very long-winded prose that, in the end, has absolutely nothing to do with anything in the story. There are other problems. The two cases the protagonist works on as an amateur P.I. fall into his lap in a rather unbelievable fashion, especially considering they happened within a day or two of each other. I mean, how many people attend an art show that gets bombed the day after they discover a dead cabbie lying in his cab? That was pretty hard to swallow. Oh yeah, and his dead wife was a multi-million dollar artist whom he completely worshipped. And his daughter's IQ may be very close to four digits. And he writes long, very boring letters to his dead wife. I nice idea by itself, but not well executed. All in all, I cannot say I cared about anyone in this book. I really couldn't have cared less whether he solved his cases or not. And when he did (of course he did), he decided not to let us readers in on any of his thought processes, so each major development was a surprise. But not in a good way. I felt left out of the process completely, being given only enough information to *think* I was part of it. On the plus side, Fusilli does care about his main characters, the father and the daughter. They are three-dimensional and complex, as is their relationship, and that took a lot of work to pull off. I would much rather read that than some tripe written by Tom Clancy populated by characters who *wish* they had two dimensions. I may try another Fusilli book in the future, if only to see if he got any better.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Fair!
Review: I was really looking forward to reading this book after having read many of the glowing reviews. While Jim Fusilli is an author with potential I was largely disappointed in Closing Time, his first effort. The basic premise is interesting and Fusilli's descriptive abilities of the sights and sounds of New York strongly ring true. However, the plot is too drawn out and Fusilli seems unable to forego describing all the thoughts and feelings of his main character, Terry Orr. By the time I got through the first quarter of Closing Time (about 75 pages), I was spending as much time thinking about what to read next as on the story itself. Closing Time is not a bad book, it's just not an especially good one. If you're into reading the first works of authors with promise, than Closing Time might be worth your time -- but buy in paperback, or better still, get it from the library. Otherwise, since there are so many books and so little time, I'd suggest you skip this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary Debut
Review: In reviews of his new book Fusilli has been compared with Robert Parker, Elmore Leonard and James Lee Burke, so he would not need me to defend him. But one of the reviews of Closing Time is so unfair that I just felt I had to speak my mind. This reviewer criticizes Fusilli's dialogue. I totally, totally disagree. I think it is so authentic. When Terry Orr is in a calm mood or when he is thinking about his wife he speaks like an educated man. When he loses his temper or is tired he talks like a street punk. (I think this would be a clue to his upbringing.) This is explained on the third page of the book. Also I love the music because Terry and his daughter can't even agree on that! (Terry 's music is sad. But Bella is trying to be happy. But why does she like old rock and roll?) I encourage people to try this book. It's sad, or I would say melancholy but it feels just like real life. I would call it one of my favorite detective books, period. Fusilli is going places with this series!!
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up for Manhattan mystery!
Review: Manhattan is the star of Jim Fusilli's dynamic, new novel, Closing Time. The dark, nervous city comes alive as detective/protagonist Terry Orr lurches about its streets in search of murderers and answers to problems of a more metaphysical kind.
From the meatpacking distict of lower Manhattan to Harlem's notorious street corners, Fusilli describes a city in constant flux between good and evil. So too the hero, whose broken life fuels his every thought and action.
This novel is a compelling study, not only of our nation's most beloved city but also of a father's complex relationship with his daughter. The character of Bella provides a light, revealing dimension to a clouded family saga, and gives the novel a welcome lift. One yearns to find out what will happen in the girl's future.
I look forward to the sequel!!
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up for Manhattan mystery!
Review: Manhattan is the star of Jim Fusilli's dynamic, new novel, Closing Time. The dark, nervous city comes alive as detective/protagonist Terry Orr lurches about its streets in search of murderers and answers to problems of a more metaphysical kind.
From the meatpacking distict of lower Manhattan to Harlem's notorious street corners, Fusilli describes a city in constant flux between good and evil. So too the hero, whose broken life fuels his every thought and action.
This novel is a compelling study, not only of our nation's most beloved city but also of a father's complex relationship with his daughter. The character of Bella provides a light, revealing dimension to a clouded family saga, and gives the novel a welcome lift. One yearns to find out what will happen in the girl's future.
I look forward to the sequel!!
Rating: 
Summary: New York, New York!
Review: Not many writers capture the atmosphere, the rhythm, and the attitude of Manhattan, particularly lower Manhattan, the way that Jim Fusilli does in Closing Time. The physical details are nearly perfect, and the complex ethnic relations that are such a large part of New York City life are candidly drawn without the typical generalizations and stereotypes. But Closing Time's biggest selling points are the strong character developments that cover the full range of human emotions. In addition, the book contains some of the most interesting adult/child interactions that I've read in a while. If there is a flaw here it would be the way that the central character, Terry Orr, arrives at certain key conclusions while pursuing his cases. He manages to zero in on the culprits seemingly without much deductive reasoning, process of elimination, or even basic forensics, relying instead on hunches and instincts that always prove correct. That aside, it's really not fair to nitpick when just about everything else in the book is done so well. I look forward to the next book in this series, which is already waiting in my pile.
Rating:
Summary: New York, New York!
Review: Not many writers capture the atmosphere, the rhythm, and the attitude of Manhattan, particularly lower Manhattan, the way that Jim Fusilli does in Closing Time. The physical details are nearly perfect, and the complex ethnic relations that are such a large part of New York City life are candidly drawn without the typical generalizations and stereotypes. But Closing Time's biggest selling points are the strong character developments that cover the full range of human emotions. In addition, the book contains some of the most interesting adult/child interactions that I've read in a while. If there is a flaw here it would be the way that the central character, Terry Orr, arrives at certain key conclusions while pursuing his cases. He manages to zero in on the culprits seemingly without much deductive reasoning, process of elimination, or even basic forensics, relying instead on hunches and instincts that always prove correct. That aside, it's really not fair to nitpick when just about everything else in the book is done so well. I look forward to the next book in this series, which is already waiting in my pile.
Rating:
Summary: Head for the Exit
Review: Private Investigator and widower Terry Orr has it rough. He's suffering the loss of his wife and young son and trying to parent his precocious 12-year-old daughter. His suffering has led him into the world of living dangerously while attempting to bring to justice the murderer of a cab driver and the person who set a bomb at his wife's agent's art gallery. This sounds like a set up for an excellent story, but Jim Fusilli has written Closing Time with such a heavy hand as to render it mediocre. Author Jim Fusilli uses dialogue as a method of advancing the plot. Though the dialogue is fast-paced, sometimes it is so cryptic and so crucial to a plot-turn that it must be re-read three or four times. This occurs more frequently toward the end of the novel, when Terry is running around New York tying up all the lose ends of the crimes he's solving. Some of the dialogue caused me to stop and look stuff up. Example: Terry borrows money from his daughter and says he'll return it with interest at prime and "with the vig." Also, Fusilli writes inconsistent dialogue. Example: on page 3, Terry writes to his dead wife "it matters not what anyone else thinks or says." He thinks of a desk sergeant as "sloe-eyed" on page 39. But on the same page, he's talking like a gumshoe: "He was here and your guys went at it easy." Classic noir P.I. language vies with more poetic turns of phrase throughout the book, for an effect that is decidedly off-key. The prose is also cluttered with too many music references. For example, on page 46, Fusilli mentions that the Tilt-A-Whirl has the best jukebox in New York and then includes a footnote referring the reader to a list of what the jukebox was actually stocked with. Interesting detail, but it didn't add anything to the story. There are good things about this book. I loved Orr's daughter Bella, who is 12 going on 30 (but still realistically drawn as 12). Although the book as a whole lacks fluidity, some scenes flow very well. Fusilli is good at setting the scene and making the reader really see the New York neighborhood where Orr lives. The book also has heart and in spite of Orr's inconsistencies there is something likable about him. It's just not enough to make up for the sour notes that are struck once every few pages. For me, this was a difficult book to finish.
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: THis book was one of the best , well rounded books I have read in a long time. The relationships in the book are complex but real, there are no elaborate story lines , no deciet by the author , just a great story with some action and believable characters. It is a refreshing change of pace from all the witty banter that takes place in most other murder mysteries. The characters are not superhuman , they are just people.It describes NYC very well, the streets and the nuances.
The highest praise I can give it is well rounded and realistic , it may not seem like praise but it is.
|
