The Highly Effective Detective (Teddy Ruzak Mysteries)

by Richard Yancey

Hardcover, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

Minotaur Books (2006), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 304 pages

Description

Inheriting a substantial fortune from his late mother, Teddy Ruzak quits his job as a night watchman to pursue his long-time dream of becoming a private eye, enlisting the help of his new secretary, Felicia, to solve his first case.

User reviews

LibraryThing member dbartlett

Teddy Ruzak decides to open a detective agency in Knoxville, TN. Although his first case (finding out who ran over some baby ducks) seems rather flimsy, a murder ensues and Teddy is in the thick of it, despite the fact that his detecting skills seem minimal at best. Some interesting secondary

characters, such as a waitress-turned-secretary who misses lots of work and an old woman who confesses to crimes she reads about in the newspaper, add to the overall enjoyment of this first novel in what will hopefully become a series. I was initially drawn to this novel because the Knoxville setting is my hometown, but I will go back for seconds and thirds if Teddy Ruzak has further detecting adventures.

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LibraryThing member maryanntherese

An enjoyable first mystery in a new series by Richard Yancey. Our protagonist is your everyday guy, dreaming his life away in a night-watchman's job for fourteen years. When he "lucks into money," he fulfills his childhood dream and hangs up his PI shingle in downtown Knoxville.

I loved this book

for it's humanness. Teddy Ruzak, Investigative Consultant, is funny and sad all at once. Watching his first case unravel is like watching a train wreck. The the dialogue is real, and the humor sublime. I am looking forward to the sequel, due in August '08.

The author makes some minor chronology errors, which do not affect the outcome of the mystery. Hopefully, he and his editor will clean that up in future books.

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LibraryThing member thornton37814

Teddy Ruzak quits his job as a security to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a private investigator. The name he chooses for his agency is quite paradoxical because Teddy is anything but "Highly Effective." As an East Tennessean, I was looking forward to its Knoxville setting, but I had

trouble sticking with the novel because I just never cared for Teddy nor any other characters. I doubt that I will ever read any future installments in this series. As much as I might relate to a Knoxville setting, I just refuse to be "tortured" by reading a book.

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LibraryThing member susannelson

A very enjoyable "light', mystery, reminiscent of Donald Westlake.

LibraryThing member Melayla

I really wanted to like this and I tried to, but I couldn't even bring myself to finish reading it. I was more than half way through the book and realized I didn't much like the characters, there was barely a mystery yet and I really didn't care who-did-it.

I do love light mysteries that are

strongly carried by recurring characters, but I do like there to be some kind of real mystery going on. Preferably, I will get to know the characters as they solve the mystery. It felt like this book spent a lot of time introducing characters at the expense of giving me an engaging story.

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LibraryThing member BrynDahlquis

Once I put down the book it would take me ages to get back to it. But when I was reading it, I wouldn't stop until I just had to.

That kind of sums up my feelings towards this book. I really enjoyed it but at the same time am kind of apathetic. I definitely like Teddy, but to be honest I didn't care

for any other characters. The plot was definitely interesting and twisty and had a very satisfying conclusion. So why didn't I love it more?

I don't know. Just fell short of brilliant, I guess.

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LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd

This caught my attention on the "new acquisitions" shelf in our local library, and I thought it looked promising. I found it funny, as advertised, with a quirky plot hook (the "murder" of six goslings crossing a busy highway), and the main character has enough going for him that I expect this will

become a series. I didn't figure out exactly what went on, but I suspected all the right people of something well before the detective explained things. The edition I read had a glaring editorial goof in it---a reference to a significant phrase allegedly uttered by a character who never said any such thing. But a fun read. And the bonus was that it was set in Knoxville, which I didn't know when I selected it. Even with my limited experience of the place I recognized many of the settings he used (The Tennessee Theater, Kingston Pike, Alcoa Highway, the fountain in the airport, etc.)
If Yancey writes more of these, I'll give him another go.
Review written in March 2007

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