Michael Craft
Bitch Slap (2004)
Author: Michael Craft
Genre/Subgenre: Mystery/Amateur Detective
Plot Summary:
This book is for people who want an unconventional formula for the mystery genre. Mark Manning is happily occupied with his life partner, Neil, in Dumont, Wisconsin. Through inheritance, Manning owns a principle share in Dumont’s paper mill industry and owns the town paper. Manning is attempting to sell his principle in the paper mill in a merger, yet there is disagreement among the lawyers and CEOs. One of the CEOs, Gillian Reese, is causing headaches for multiple people: the lawyers find her financial papers fishy, Neil is suffering under her demands as he builds her new home, Glee Savage rehashes an old college grudge, and the curtain maker, Todd Draper, can’t make the drapes to suit. The characters dish out ‘bitch slaps’ with wild abandon. Halfway through the book, Reese winds up dead. The police are willing to call it an accident, but Manning suspects there might be foul play! Manning supposedly has solved mysteries before, but he is lousy this time around. The culprit is obvious, yet Craft has a way to make even the reader shocked at the confession. Manning does not solve the puzzle, the culprit has to confess.
Geographical Setting: Dumont, Wisconsin
Time Period: Present Day
Series: Mark Manning Mystery: 4th title in series
Appeal Characteristics: Character-driven, attention to details such as food and the curtain business (never say drapes!)
Red Flags: Explicit sexual situations
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