Unpaid Dues : A Munch Mancini Crime Novel (Munch Mancini Novels (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: Great character, Absorbing story
Review: Miranda (Munch) Mancini, former runaway, drug addict and prostitute, has reformed her life. She's now a car mechanic, limo driver, part-time detective and adoptive mother. Munch one of the most original characters to come along in quite awhile. UNPAID DUES explores Munch Mancini's former life in flashback sequences when a former friend from her drug days is found in a storm drainage canal. Munch's connection with her friend comes to light when Munch's picture turns up in the friend's police file. Munch's past secrets are slowly revealed to the important people in her present life.

Seranella takes us into the world of everything from drugs and violence, to the life of an auto mechanic from first-hand experience. This is Barbara Seranella's sixth novel featuring Munch, but my first. I loved almost everything about the book and the character. I have already gotten two of the earlier books and can't wait to find out more of Munch's story. This is a definite must-read for anyone who enjoys a gritty absorbing cirme novel.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Genre
Review: The Munch Mancini novels by Barbara Seranella are being marketed as "mystery fiction" and "crime novels." That is a blessing and a pitty as these books are often dismissed by literary snobs as inferior because of average writing and flat characters. Barbara Seranella is an excellent writer! And Munch is one of the best characters in ALL of fiction. She came from an upper middle class family, fell into a terrible life of drugs, sex, and mayhem, and then pulled herself out of it. A simple summary of the novels is that Munch-day by day- struggles to hold onto her new life. And there are plenty of people and events cropping up to pull her back into her old, bad ways. But the books offer so much more than that. Munch's insights into both worlds are sometimes shocking, sometimes funny, and always heart wrenching. I love this character because she takes the very hard lessons of her life and puts them into practice as she deals with the challenges of a sober life. She is so damned decent and so damned brave! As a character representing her time and place, Munch Mancini deserves to stand next to Anita Brookner's "Excellent Women" of post WWII England, in the literary (MAIN STREAM) hall of fame. I can only hope literary snobs - those who don't read genre- will somehow discover the Munch Mancini novels. Their lives will be greatly enriched for it.

Rating:
Summary: Smart and gritty
Review: What a great read. The story is at turns violent, insightful, clever, and funny. The characters are thoroughly believable -- from the series' regular cops to the minor characters(especially Doleen). And ever since I read 'No Human Involved' I've believed that Munch is a very real person. This ain't no cozy. And I highly recommend it.