Deal With the Dead

Rating:
Summary: Avg At Best-Typical Standiford
Review: a generic thriller featuring a Miami contractor that's too dumb to be believable(how can you empathize with an idiot?) and dialogue that sounds like a 1950s teen prom; two major negatives that ruin a decent plot but is typical of the series; one would expect better of Standiford who is, or recently has been, a professor of creative writing in a southern university

Rating:
Summary: Good deal
Review: Family history and introspection play a role in the lastest chapter of this series. Bad guys, boat chases and magical women are the more entertaining elements in this episode, but the writing and realistic adult approach are futher reasons to get into this series.

Rating:
Summary: Clunky
Review: I know I'm swimming against the tide on this one, but this, the first Deal I've read, left me cold. It wasn't the story that bothered me, but rather the writing: unnecessary words in most every sentence; unnecessary sentences in most every paragraph; unnecessary paragraphs in every chapter. In a nutshell, I guess the major problem I had with this book was that unlike in real life, there is no danger of failing to read between the lines because Mr. Standiford beats you over the head with the obvious so often that there is no in between the lines.

Here, try this on for size:

"They were high enough up in the building that the linoleum in the hallways had turned to carpeting, and no indoor-outdoor crap with a pattern meant to disguised coffee stains, either. This was carpet that cushioned your steps, the kind meant to remind you-if you were to tread upon it every day-that you were somebody now. And the walls themselves were different, as well. Instead of gray-green finished concrete, there was wooden paneling halfway up, then some tasteful dark-blue linen wallpaper the rest of the way to the stuccoed ceiling. Every half-dozen steps there was a brass sconce set that threw light out in a golden glob, just so."

If this is your notion of vibrant language, gracefully and economically expressing an idea, then maybe Deal With The Dead is the book for you. But to me it sounds clunky and for my money, there are a lot better books out there plowing the same terrain.

Rating:
Summary: Deal With The Dead
Review: Les Standiford's sixth John Deal novel is a humdinger. All the suspense, all the action, and all the humanity that we've come to expect from Standiford's "Deal" novels is there. The story is one of redemption. John Deal's redemption of his guilty knowlege of his father Barton, an apparent crooked builder and a suicide; Deal's redemption of DealCo, the company Barton founded and ruined; Deal's redemption of the Deal family's good name; and Deal's redemption of himself. Can Deal do it all? You bet. But, all kinds of roadblocks are thrown in the way for Deal to climb over or push aside. Standiford is the true successor to Florida's John D. MacDonald. And, John Deal the true successor to Travis McGee. But, Deal is more a real person than McGee.

Read DEAL WITH THE DEAD. It's the real deal.

Rating:
Summary: Deal With The Dead
Review: Les Standiford's sixth John Deal novel is a humdinger. All the suspense, all the action, and all the humanity that we've come to expect of Standiford's "Deal" Novels is there. The story is one of redemption. John Deal redeeming his knowlege of his father who had apparently been a crooked builder and a suicide; redeeming his family's good name; and, finally, redeeming himself. Can he do it? You bet. But, not without all kinds of barriers and impediments to climb over or push out of the way. Standiford is the worthy sucessor to John D. MacDonald and his Florida based Travis McGee stories. But, Standiford's John Deal is more a real person than MacDonalds McGee. Read DEAL WITH THE DEAD. It's the real deal.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent stortelling
Review: Miami builder John Deal wants to restore his deceased father's company to the hey days of the 1950s-1960s when Barton Deal was a major player in the construction boom. When John wins the bid on an advantageous government contract, he feels he has taken a large step back to what once was.

However, sometimes you get what you wish for, especially if one is not careful in what they ask. Tied to the contract is a shadowy individual claiming to be a Fed. He informs John that Barton bartered away his soul in order to succeed. The government arranged for Barton to befriend the local Mafia and subsequently provide information against the mob. Ultimately a pressured Barton killed a friend while his disloyalty to the Mafia led to his alleged suicide. John finds wearing his father's shoes pinch more than just his toes as history seems ready to repeat itself.

After waiting for two and a half years even with a well-written filler (BLACK MOUNTAIN), readers will rejoice in the return of John Deal. His latest adventure, DEAL WITH THE DEAD, is extremely complex as two major story lines in two different eras blend together into a fantastic plot. With superb plotting, fantastic characters, and the return of old friends, ultra talented author Les Standiford is trapped by how fantastic the Deal novels are. When he ventures outside of Deal, readers feel let down even if the book is better than just about everything else on the market. Well, no depression as this novel is the real deal for fans of suspense.

Harriet Klausner