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Summary: Wonderland Rocks
Review: The Wonderland Murders is a perfectly written mystery. The opening scene, a murder in California theme park, gripped me. The rest of the first chapter laid the foundation for the rest of the novel. Key characters are introduced, and overriding themes begin to be developed.Jesse Ascencio, the private eye lead in the mystery, is certainly a contemporary man facing contemporary issues. While the murder hunt is the novel's primary conflict, several subplots--internal and external--to this fully fleshed-out character keep the storyline moving swiftly. Ascencio is a good man struggling to be better. He has a family he loves and friends he cares about. He has the code of honor first introduced by Raymond Chandler and updated by authors such as Ross Macdonald, Marcia Muller, and Robert Parker since then. Again, The Wonderland Murders is a magnificent mystery novel. Its plot moves in unexpected yet in thoroughly realistic directions. Even the villain, the suspects, and the other supporting characters are fully developed individuals. I believe Kent Braithwaite is at the dawn of a magnificent career. I salute him. Wonderland Rocks!
Rating: 
Summary: Dull and poorly written
Review: I came across The Wonderland Murders when I noticed Kent Braithwaite's recipe in the recently published Second Helping of Murder. Braithwaite's work was featured with the work of such authors as Dick Francis, Linda Barnes, Raymond Chandler, and Agatha Christie. I gave this book a try. I enjoyed it immensely. It was a swift and stylistic read. The Hispanic lead, a private eye, is representative of our time and the southern California mystery literary tradition. The plot hooked me. Braithwaite's brisk prose kept me reading all night. He knows how to write. He knows how to tell a story. The murderer's identity took me by surprise, and I loved the supporting characters and the various sublots. The Wonderland Murders is an exciting jewel of a mystery.
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Summary: A Gift For My Soldier
Review: My husband is stationed in Iraq. I've spent many nights alone reading mysteries. I love mysteries, every type of mysteries. THE WONDERLAND MURDERS takes place in a California beach community where my husband grew up. Its murders center around an amusement park. My husband worked at Disneyland as a teenager. This book was a perfect read for me. I loved the story. I loved the detective. I enjoyed the detective's poetry and his ethical standards. His family was a joy to get to know. The story was exciting. It moved quickly. Its ending was a major, though adequately foretold, surprise. THE WONDERLAND MURDERS is a terrif novel, and it is going into my Christmas package to a certain one of our troops I know well and miss terribly. I hope it reminds him of home and those of us who are eagerly awaiting his return. I encourage everyone to read Mr. Braithwaite's mystery novel.
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Summary: The Book I'm Taking to Bouchercon
Review: When I finish writing this review, I will finish packing my luggage for the Las Vegas Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. Kent Braithwaite's Wonderland Murders will be in my bag. I'm hoping to get this mystery novel signed by its author. Braithwaite is a rising star of the mystery community, and The Wonderland Murders is his debut novel. Two more books in his Jesse Ascencio series are forthcoming. I want his signature on this first edition. Braithwaite's private detective hails from the classic Hammett/Chandler/Macdonald/Grafton tradition yet he functions realistically in our modern world. Ascencio is Latino. He is married. He has two children and a varied professional career. He is a poet with a social conscience and a man who walks the mean streets of our America. He is a man who is good enough for his world or any world. The story of Wonderland involves, on the surface, a series of homicides that happen at a California amusement park. With the Pacific Coast as a backdrop, Ascencio solves these crimes in a fast-paced and exciting adventure. Serious social issues are also in the mix. Romance plays a key part in the tale. The Wonderland Murders is a contemporary noir novel that represents the future of crime fiction, and I'm taking it to Bouchercon, where I hope Kent Braithwaite will be speaking, to get it signed!
Rating:
Summary: Dull
Review: Kent Braithwaite, author of THE WONDERLAND MURDERS, appeared at an important California mystery event called Men of Mystery. I met him when he was signing his thriller sitting next to James Patterson. I gave author Braithwaite a try after chatting briefly with the gentleman while author Patterson signed a batch of his novels for me. THE WONDERLAND MURDERS is an impressive modern crime novel. It takes place in Orange County (AKA OC) and involves homicides that occur at a beachfront amusement park. The happily-married detective is Hispanic, and the story is a serious one with noirish themes and attitudes. It deals too with social concerns. Author Braithwaite's prose reads swiftly and his story turns unexpectedly. It is an excellent novel.
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