Headlock

Rating:
Summary: Praise for a hidden talent
Review: After meeting the author, Burl Barer, at a writer's conference and hearing him read aloud from this book, I had to have it. It is uproariously funny with enough twists and turns to keep your attention riveted and your body shaking with laughter. The only thing that could be better than reading this book would be to have Burl himself read it to you. His characters are total breakthroughs from many stereotypes you'll find in other books. Blond bimbos suddenly have intelligence, hookers have feelings and families, even the bad guys have a human touch. But the real hero, Jeff Reynolds, is someone you'd want to know personally - and you get the chance when you delve into his story. HEADLOCK is the first of a new series, and one can only wait with bated breath for its upcoming sequel.
Burl Barer is a unique author who isn't afraid to let his own personality shine through his hero. If you don't have the opportunity to meet Burl in person, the next best thing is reading his tale as told by Jeff Reynolds.

Rating:
Summary: Praise for a hidden talent
Review: After meeting the author, Burl Barer, at a writer's conference and hearing him read aloud from this book, I had to have it. It is uproariously funny with enough twists and turns to keep your attention riveted and your body shaking with laughter. The only thing that could be better than reading this book would be to have Burl himself read it to you. His characters are total breakthroughs from many stereotypes you'll find in other books. Blond bimbos suddenly have intelligence, hookers have feelings and families, even the bad guys have a human touch. But the real hero, Jeff Reynolds, is someone you'd want to know personally - and you get the chance when you delve into his story. HEADLOCK is the first of a new series, and one can only wait with bated breath for its upcoming sequel.
Burl Barer is a unique author who isn't afraid to let his own personality shine through his hero. If you don't have the opportunity to meet Burl in person, the next best thing is reading his tale as told by Jeff Reynolds.

Rating:
Summary: SMART, SHARP
Review: Barer has done it again! I re-read this book recently because I loved the smart-sharp style and affable lead. I kept wanting to pull up a stool at McFeely's and hang out with Jeff...then again, maybe I HAVE. And I'd love to get randy with Randy Nussbaum! Hope there are more adventures in Jeff's future.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Deserves More Sales!
Review: Having been born and raised in "Wally World" (what the locals call it) I could not wait to dive into this novel. Burl presents a protagonist with the coolness of Bond yet too cerebral too follow any formula or plan. Instead of phony villains we see characters that are all too human in a town that is very average.

Rating:
Summary: Barers Best Work Yet!
Review: Having read every book by Burl Barer, I was not suprised that Headlock (his most recent novel) was well written and funny. I was, however, suprised by just how wonderful this book is, it made me laugh until my belly ached, it made me get all misty with nostalgia, it even made me miss my papa! An amazingly strong opener for what i expect to be a wonderful series. Jeff Reynolds, the main character, is both likable and human. Barer takes the reader down many roads as this mystery unfolds, all of which are worthwhile. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, a good laugh, sleazy bars or pro-wrestling. I can't wait for the next installment!

Rating:
Summary: Dazzling, brilliant, hilarious -- wonderful read!
Review: Headlock is, beyond a doubt, the most clever private eye novel in decades. The "hero" -- Jeff Reynolds -- tells us the story himself, and what a story teller he is! If you don't laugh out loud reading this book, your sense of humor is atrophied. This book is not all non-stop one-liners -- the plot, sub-plots, and emotional underpinnings are deadly serious. The characters are all believable, and even the minor ones come to life for you. There is not a single cardboard cut out character in this book. The plot? A paranoid recluse hires Jeff to find out if it's safe to come out of the house. Guess what? It's not safe. So many things happen in this oomplex tale of conspiracy, murder and mayhem that I honestly doubted that all the pieces could be part of the same puzzle. Not only does the author tie everything together, but Headlock has the best surprise ending since "Fletch." You must read this book!

Rating:
Summary: This Book Deserves More Sales!
Review: I need to confess that for almost a decade I mourned the loss of Georges Simenon so intensely that I never read another mystery. I never expected to savor another detail, marvel at the accuracy of another metaphor, or care about another protagonist the way I did for Inspector Maigret. Burl Barer has succeeded in enticing me back to fictional crime with the debut of Jeff Reynolds, P.I., in Headlock.

Jeff Reynolds, the novel's protagonist, barely makes a living as a mid-list mystery writer. To augment his income, he has a Walla Walla, Washington private investigator's license. Reynolds takes small cases for small cash. His main interests lie in finding justice for the oppressed, retribution for the criminals, and a plot for his next novel.

Despite his acknowledged but suppressed gift of extrasensory perception, Reynolds is not another quirky yet unbelievable hero. His intuition enhances his intelligence; it does not replace it. He never allows the reader to forget that he is more than capable of error. When Columbo played the role of a bumbling, less-than-bright police detective, we knew he was acting. When Jeff Reynolds bumbles, he does it seriously.

In the tradition of himself, Burl Barer gives his audience the usual romping read of little history lessons and big belly laughs. Readers familiar with the witty asides of the writer, as well as the humorous situations he devises for his characters, will love the humor in Headlock. His fictional characters soar in the sublimity of their truth and nonsense.

Jeff Reynold's truth, however, is evasive. The "private eye" narrates his story in the first person, present tense, giving us the impression that he is confiding in us, yet he hides as much, or more, than he reveals. We are "outside" while the characters are "inside". Reynolds allows us into his mind, an honor denied his co-characters, yet he remains essentially isolated. His "close friends" are only a phone call away -- and only a phone call. He says he listens to anything from anybody, but is his listening an exercise in detached observation rather than real communication? He carries private eye identification to legitimize his forays into crime, but he says he is not a real private eye; he is a mystery writer. If he is not a real private eye, is HEADLOCK a real private eye mystery novel? Maybe, maybe not. I think Barer is up to something

At one point, fellow mystery author G. M. Ford teases Reynolds about "hiding out." It is also Ford who directs Reynolds to an important piece of the plot's intricate puzzle. Barer, using Ford as the touchstone of authenticity, bestows upon him the honor of ultimate expositor. It is G. M. Ford, a real author of highly praised private eye novels, appearing "as himself" in a work of fiction, who provides the primary clue that HEADLOCK is a novel "beyond the genre" - a daring, original piece of contemporary fiction "hiding out" as a private eye mystery.

Enigmatic, captivating, amusing, and, in the final analysis, sweetly sad, HEADLOCK is a novel that inspires reflection. It's also a novel you'll read more than once and enjoy for different reasons each time. Burl Barer's HEADLOCK is a one-hundred percent dazzling debut of what could be the best new series in mystery fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful, very funny mystery
Review: Jeff Reynolds is a private investigator, a P.I. in the parlance. He�s also an author.
Readers may decide there are autobiographical connections between Mr. Reynolds and
Mr. Barer. They would not be mistaken. Reynolds is sarcastic, casts a widely jaundiced
eye, and has an interestingly skewed attitude toward several common aspects of the world
we live in.

Jeff Reynolds is not exactly the P.I. I would hire to solve a mystery for me. But Jeff
Reynolds is certainly a guy I�d spend some quality time hanging out with. Particularly at
McFeely�s Tavern in, of all places, Walla Walla.

The gist of the story is that this paranoid fellow who rarely ventures beyond his front door
may--or may not--know something material about a murder. A murder that happened a
while ago. Feeling threatened, he, one Richard Tibbits, now wants Jeff Reynolds to find
out why no one was prosecuted and why people are again pestering Richard. If, in fact,
they are. The way he picked Reynolds is interesting. Tibbits read about Reynolds in the
local newspaper on the occasion of a bookstore signing for one of Reynolds� books. By
the way, Tibbits is a former pro-wrestler, which should tell you something about this
book.

Part of the difficulty with this action novel that just lopes right along page after page is
that it�s complicated and a little hard to read because your eyes keep tearing up with
laughter. There are truly only a few writers working today who can sustain such a
consistent level of fine writing, complexities of plot, great imagination, and humor.

I just hope he doesn�t write too many of them. My stomach muscles are still sore from
laughing.

Rating:
Summary: BookCrazy Radio loves Burl Barer
Review: This is the first book I have read by Burl. I found him very funny and entertaining. His character Jeff Reynolds reminds me of the Elvis Cole character by Robert Crais. I also enjoyed the quips about mystery conventions. Having attended quite a few cons myself the humor was great. I love a hero that is far from perfect and fun to read about.