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    The Baby Blue Rip-Off
    The Baby Blue Rip-Off
    The Baby Blue Rip-Off
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Baby Blue Rip-Off

    Written by Max Allan Collins

    Narrated by Dan John Miller

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Vietnam vet Mallory has been everywhere and done everything—from hippie life to construction work, from covering a reporter’s beat to walking a cop’s—before finally returning to small-town Iowa to try his hand at writing. In between crafting whodunits, he does his part for the community by ferrying hot meals to little old ladies. But then his worlds unexpectedly collide: home invaders murder one of his clients and leave Mallory black-and-blue when he catches them red-handed.

    The elderly victim is the first fatality in an organized burglary spree sweeping the town, but Mallory fears she may not be the last. And despite the painful cracks in his ribs, nothing can stop him from looking into the killing—not even the local sheriff, or the little blonde from high school days who got away…or even a beating courtesy of the ruthless goon squad that warns Mallory to steer clear.

    Armed with his ex-cop’s instincts, soldier’s survival skills, and mystery writer’s savvy, Mallory bucks the local law and the love of his life to stop this brutal burglary ring. But writing a mystery can pay well, whereas solving one can pay dearly…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 11, 2012
    ISBN9781469248103
    The Baby Blue Rip-Off
    Author

    Max Allan Collins

    Max Allan Collins is a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. He is the author of the Shamus Award-winning Nathan Heller thrillers and the graphic novel Road to Perdition, basis of the Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks. His innovative Quarry novels led to a 2016 Cinemax series. He has completed a dozen posthumous Mickey Spillane mysteries, and wrote the syndicated Dick Tracy series for more than fifteen years. His one-man show, Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life, was an Edgar Award finalist. He lives in Iowa.

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    Reviews for The Baby Blue Rip-Off

    3.5/5

    24 ratings5 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 3/5
      UPDATE: I discovered that this was actually the second book in the Mallory series, even though it was published first. A lot of my critiques about the era and location were explained in the author notes preceding the next book in the series. It was actually written in the 1970s but the first printing wasn't published until 1987 and the audiobook wasn't recorded until 2015. I wish I had read No Cure for Death first because it probably contains a lot of exposition about the character that would have provided more dimensions to the character. But this as a standalone book, my review still stands.

      Mallory is no Sherlock Holmes or even Lt. Frank Drebin from Naked Gun. Truthfully, his instincts and deductive reasoning is on par with Shaggy and Scooby.

      I go through a LOT of mysteries, UK police procedurals, cozy mysteries, murder mystery dinners, and escape rooms. I have yet failed to be bested at any of the murder mystery events. I do not know how Mallory is a mystery writer but I suppose he really isn't until he finishes the book, which he didn't.

      He adopts stereotypes associated with mystery writers like alcoholism, wisecracks, nosiness, and irrational risks. Maybe in his mind, he is Nick Charles but he's not even close. Usually, literary investigators get involved because they are asked or they have a personal stake involved with solving the crime and the police are too corrupt or inept to get the job done. They are forced to probe because the police have completely shut them out of the investigation. This was not the case in this story. He had the personal attachment but the sheriff and deputy included him and they exchanged theories and breakthroughs. There was also no legitimate reason why Mallory and the Sheriff would harbor animosity against each other. The reason given just does not justify their halfhearted digs at each other. In addition, Mallory's wisecracks were short on the "wise" and fell flat; they were not particularly pithy nor scathing, they were pointless.

      This story is set in the post Vietnam era near the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities are four river cities between Illinois and Iowa that straddles the Mississippi River. This took place on the Iowa side of the Mississippi. That description is much more than was provided in the book. I spent nearly a decade near that area for my collegiate studies. The author did not emerge you in the environment. The description of the surroundings were utterly generic and could have been anywhere. I also didn't see the premise for using the 1970s post-Vietnam period. Other than casually alluding to the women's rights movement and the earlier Haight Ashbury scene, it could have been set in any time period.

      After finishing reading some heavier mystery novels full of overly pretentious prose and lurid depictions of violence and bigotry, I wanted something lighter but still give me opportunities to flex my little grey cells. A kind of aperitif to clear my mind of the images conjured in my previous readings. However, I knew who was the "mastermind" behind the crimes almost as soon as they were introduced. I also saw every string that was pulled by all of the major characters to weave this story so there was no misdirection nor slight of hand that distracted me from the thin veneer of the mystery.

      My biggest bone of contention is that Mallory is a stock character, two dimensional, and barely fleshed out. He takes really dumb risks that no reasonable person would pursue. He misses obvious, glaring clues that wouldn't even fool Clouseau. Ultimately, this character needs to be fully developed, made more realistic, and be more clever. Since this is a series, I hope that we see this growth from book to book.
    • 4/5
      Fun read by a great author
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars

      Quick, fun read from early in the career of Max Allan Collins.
    • 3/5
      A quick read, that was enjoyable. Mallory is an interesting character, but no Quarry. Still, it was fun & I'll look forward to other books about him.

      Mallory isn't a real tough guy, but he's a pretty good guy trying to get along as best he can. When trouble finds him, he keeps worrying the problem until it works out. He tends to take a few lumps along the way. His attitude, while not quite as sarcastic as Quarry's, is still a lot of fun.
    • 2/5
      A quick not-too-hard-to-figure-out whodunit.