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: Promising
Review: A lot of Big Names wrote glowing cover quotes for this book, and, having read it now, I have to wonder about that. While Manhattan is clearly defined in terms of setting (the smell of it, the light and dark of it, the viewings of every conceivable type of person), Closing Time gets off to a ponderous start; it's heavy going for a good 75 or 80 pages before the narrative gathers real momentum. The basic premise of a widower and his young daughter left somehow to move forward after the murder of their wife/mother, son/brother is a good one. But the letters Terry Orr writes to his dead wife stop the action cold and don't generate the intended sympathy for the hero. His late wife, Marina, was evidently without flaws. Terry never once remembers anything negative about the woman; his every recollection is a pastel portrait of a perfect marriage. It just doesn't ring true. What's missing is the rueful recall of everything Orr might have done differently or changed; there's an absence of regret for past misunderstandings that renders Orr's loss less than real. Fortunately, the last 60-odd pages of the book are free of the somewhat cloying, confessional letters--and the reading is greatly improved as a result. However, underlying the action is the pervasive sense of a Fugitive-like quest that will be the driving force of Terry Orr (should this be the first of a series): his search for the man responsible for the death of his wife and son. There are some fine confrontational moments, some well-drawn characters (particularly daughter Bella), but Orr's intuitive sleuthing (his thought processes are not shared with the reader--there are sequential leaps that one must accept on faith) leaves one not especially satisfied. When, before I was two-thirds of the way through this one, my attention was already turning to the matter of which book to read next, the author hasn't succeeded in holding my interest. Without question, Fusilli is talented. And since writing is a neverending course of on-the-job training, I'll certainly buy his next book in the hope that he offers more exposition and fewer letters to a dead wife.
Rating: 
Summary: Great New York atmosphere - gritty, foul and charming
Review: An incredible portrait of contemporary Manhattan is the setting for this modern Noir debut. The novel's New York atmosphere -- reeking, overwhelming, charming, quaint and foul -- makes an unforgettable location for a thriller. Jim Fusilli's got New York down. Following Terry Orr from the book's opening death scene as a cabdriver is found slain in the city's downtown meatpacking district, a reader feels compelled to stop, look around and sniff. You're in New York and Fusilli's New York grabs you and forces you to pay attention. Terry is a man haunted by an act of violence that took his wife and infant son. She was a beautiful, Italian artist and with her passing, Terry pours his love into his twelve-year-old daughter Bella. They do cool father-daughter things like go to rock concerts and gallery openings. After the cabdriver's death, Terry finds himself witnessing other seemingly isolated events including an explosion at a gallery that once displayed his late wife's work. He's on his way, honing the PI trade that he's adopted to rid himself of his demons. Terry tends to leave Bella with her Nanny as he moves from one part of Manhattan to another, searching for the people he's lost, but the daughter who loves him may quite possibly be his best hope for survival. The gritty pulse of the city comes alive with scene after scene like a pick-up basketball game in a downtown "cage" court where perspiration from buffed basketball bodies splashes off the page. Terry studied Turn of the Century New York at St. Johns University and we're with him as he admires a converted bank building in Harlem or the newel post of a Brownstone. With a keen eye, ear and nose for modern New York, Jim Fusilli is a new mystery writer to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful read!!!
Review: Closing time is beautifully written. Feel this author has a major novel in him. Liked the Manhattan background for the plot. The author obviously had a intimate knowledge of New York that he shared with the reader in a special way. The main character's relationship with his daughter is special. Note that the author dedicates the book to two women. Sure one is his wife and one his daughter. One has to have had a real Father/Daughter relationship to write about one like Mr Fusilli did. Would recommend the book highly to anyone who enjoys great descriptive writing.
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: Beautiful New York
Review: Got this book as gift, probably because I live in NYC (Chelsea)and live for rock (the writer is a music critic.) The city is so alive in this book, which is part thriller, part love/ghost story. The daughter is fantastic -- so real. Anybody who has a child will think twice about how they are raising him or her after reading this mystery. Long live Terry Orr! I hope he finds happiness.
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: 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!!
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