BLUNT DARTS

by J. F. Healy ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 30, 1984

Fans of early Robert B. Parker will find this first novel an agreeably familiar outing--with its Boston setting and its super-decent, regular-guy shamus. The mystery? Stephen Kinnington, a 14-year-old genius type, has disappeared; his father, a judge, has started a lackadaisical search for the boy. But imperious grandmother Kinnington isn't satisfied--so, through one of Stephen's teachers, she hires smart, incorruptible John Francis Cuddy, who has recently lost both his wife and his insurance-claims-investigation job. Cuddy talks to Stephen's friends and aquaintances (a mostly close-mouthed crew). He tries to get answers to puzzling questions about the ""accidental"" death of Stephen's wanton mother--which was followed by the boy's long sanitorium stay. His every move is shadowed by the Judge's threatening right-hand goon. But eventually Cuddy cuts through a miasma of fear and repression, finding: Stephen's hideout, a near brush with death, two murders, and the whole truth about the Kinnington family history. Modestly entertaining, with a likable sleuth in Cuddy: a derivative but competent and engaging debut.

Pub Date: July 30, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1984

Categories: FICTION