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MAD MOUSE is Chris Grabenstein's second novel featuring Danny Boyle, the somewhat unlikely protagonist introduced in his debut novel, TILT-A-WHIRL. Boyle is a part-time summer police officer in Sea Haven, New Jersey, a resort town that booms in the summer and more or less rolls up the sidewalks the day after Labor Day. Boyle, inexperienced in his job and just about everything else, is partnered with John Ceepak, an ex-soldier who retains a code of honor that is admirable and an encyclopedic knowledge of a wide range of topics.
It is not necessary to have read TILT-A-WHIRL before taking on MAD MOUSE; Grabenstein divulges all you need to know in a few sentences. Boyle, who is off duty, is hanging with some longtime friends during Labor Day weekend when someone shoots paint balls at them. The attack is designed to mask something far more deadly, as Ceepak soon learns in his investigation of the incident.
A second attack results in more serious consequences, and when one of Boyle's friends is found murdered, the stakes are much higher for a number of reasons. Notwithstanding the deadly attacks, the mayor of Sea Haven is reluctant to call off the Labor Day weekend festivities due to the financial hit the town will take. The pressure is on Boyle and Ceepak to determine the identity of the killer, one who has ties to events in Boyle's distant past. With some help from an unexpected source, Boyle solves the mystery and the murderer is apprehended. However, the danger to Boyle and the town is only beginning.
Grabenstein has fashioned a genuine mystery that is not only engrossing and entertaining but also challenging, while providing longtime fans of the mystery genre with what is arguably the missing link between the Hardy Boys (and Ken Holt) of old and Robert B. Parker's Spenser. With MAD MOUSE Grabenstein has repeated the artistic success of TILT-A-WHIRL while simultaneously raising expectations for his future work --- expectations that no doubt will not only be met but exceeded.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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