| Title | : | Mr. Softee (Dev Haskell Mystery, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 286 |
| Publication | : | First published June 14, 2011 |
There's the usual bullets, bombs, and mayhem. Throw in a gorgeous woman or two and you've got just your average week in St. Paul.
Mr. Softee (Dev Haskell Mystery, #2) Reviews
-
I met Dev Haskell three books back. He is the personification of the stereotypical PI. He drinks too much; he has a string of ex-wife’s, even more woman whom felt they were wronged and a libido higher than his IQ.
I fell in love with his character.
It soon became apparent that as a PI Dev was not very good. He fell into cases and it is only by happenstance that he solves the mysteries. This happenstance frequently included him getting shot, hospitalized, and incarcerated.
I loved the fact that this is not a CSI, solved in 41 minutes book. This is real grunt work.
Dev not being the best or most dependable PI seemed to attract only the most unsavoury of clients. And this is where my new fascination with Mike Faricy as an author now comes in.
In Mr Softee I started to realize how brilliant Mike sets up the scenes, playing to Dev Haskell’s stereotypes to set him up for a fall. Mr Softee is a story about deceit, greed, and how like attracts like. It is also a story that gave me a few pages turning frenzy’s. Me urging on Dev and his friend.... yes he has a friend. To exact revenge. But read the book. I am sure if you like a good investigation story, a good murder, a moderate romance and book of friendship and determination, then this is the book for you.
I received a free copy of this book from the author for an honest review.
WaAr. -
I’m so excited
Ok first thing first Mr Mike Faricy how do you expect me to give a thorough review on Dev when you’ve just given me a very big piece of cake and my favourite for that matter after I’ve just had a muffin 😂🤭
I enjoy Dev so much the banter and all his shenanigans 😂 now I’m not sure if I should continue with Dev (the muffin) or read Bobby (the cake) later.Either way just know you’ve gotten yourself a new fan I’m enjoying your work !! -
Review 6******
I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
This is another Dev Haskell novel. I LOVED IT!
Dev Haskell is a skirt chasing, beer drinking, lovable Private Investigator. I love him to bits, but sometimes I want to throttle him too! I honestly don't know if he has a guardian angel looking after him, but he seems to get into trouble at a drop of a hat!
In this page turner of a book, he is hired by Mr. Softee, an Ice Cream mogul, to provide protection. What happens next is a wild ride of explosions, car chases, mistaken identity, double cross and murder!
This is a fantastic story that had me shaking my head at Dev's antics at one moment, and marveling at how someone can have such bad luck the next! I was hooked from the first page! I loved meeting Tony "Dog" Colli. He is decidedly crazy, but I can understand why Dev is his friend; His hygiene habits leave a lot to be desired though! *shudder!!*
I am most definitely looking forward to reading more of Dev's adventures in the future!
Mike Faricy is a fantastic author! I love his writing style. It is fast paced, but it is also witty. He is one of my favourite authors, and I will read any of his books in the future.
I highly recommend this book if you love detective fiction that is highly addictive! - Lynn Worton -
This was my first crime fiction read and this well written foray into the seedy world of Mr Softee and his associates was, in most parts, an enjoyable read. Dev Haskell PI, cool, calm and with a little black book the size of Texas, takes on a job for Mr Softee only to find himself embroiled in a much deeper plot as he becomes a suspect in a murder case.
The female characters available at Dev's request grated on me a bit as the book went on and, as the violence increased, I began to skip bits, especially as the reader finds out pretty early on who is really the brains behind the business. Dog, seemingly with no conscience, scared me and the general lack of respect for human life made me uncomfortable but maybe I'm missing the point, that the world of gangsters and gun toting hard men, is not a nice place.
Faricy's easy writing style is a delight and, if crime fiction is your bag, you'll love it but, I think I can safely say for me personally...no more crime fiction! -
A Dev Haskell tale. Wisecracking PI Dev Haskell leaves his usual stool at the Spot Bar to take on a cakewalk job, providing protection for Mr. Softee. Turns out Mr. Softee is anything but... he's a ruthless 'entrepreneur' with a flash temper, a mean streak and a laundry list of people who want to do him in. It's the St. Paul your mother warned you about, delivered with a healthy serving of the bizarre.
-
Another Dev Haskell P.I. Novel. Funny with a good story line. Just as good as his first novel featuring Dev called Russian Roulette. Quick and easy read. Recommended for someone who wants to read a humorous, light, easy read.
-
Fun, humorous and entertaining read. Liked all of this series I’ve read so far.
-
"Mr. Softee" is the second book by Mike Faricy that I have read and also the second that involved PI Devlin Haskill.
Devlin Haskill is a hilarious and very well written main character with his string of ex-wives, his love for drink and bars and he seems more accidentally successful than skilled. It was a pleasure to follow Haskill tell us about the case as it develops.
In this case a mean businessman, Ice Cream Van mogul Mr. Softee hires Haskill after he narrowly escaped death by a run away driver. The investigation leads Haskill into more bars and contact with suspects. Then a potential witness is murdered and the plot takes off from there. Haskill becomes a suspect himself and with the help of a former client, nick named dog, he tries to crack the case.
The narrative is easy and hugely enjoyable to follow, there are great comic scenes and despite the more humorous character of the book the mystery is not as obvious as you would have expected from detective series of this kind. I was genuinely surprised many times as the story unfolded.
There is action, suspense and great writing, making this author one to watch and the series one to recommend to anyone who likes crime fiction that isn't all too serious. -
Needs a better editor
I wouldn't normally give an opinion about a book I didn't finish, but this time I feel I've read enough to form an opinion.
The first lines of a book are so important. So far, you've got the reader's attention with the title, cover, and back cover blurb enough so that they opened your book. Now you have to seal the deal with a compelling first page. One that sets the tone of the writing and pulls reader into the story. When I have to go back to reread the first sentence a second time to clarify what is going on, there is a problem.
This lack of clarity continued throughout the chapters I read, so I finally stopped wasting my time.
The covers are the most interesting aspect of this book. -
I think Dev Haskell is a Stone Barrington wanna-be, but falls sadly short of even that low bar. If his creds for being a PI were mentioned in the first book of the series, I don't remember them, and they weren't reiterated in the second volume.
The story ends at approx 63% of the e-book, and the rest of the book is a three-chapter teaser for the next installment in the series and then about one third or one-half of CORRIDOR MAN. -
If Carl Hiaasen decided to write a novel set in Minnesota he’d use the pseudonym Mike Faricy. Mr. Softee is filled with mystery, menace,satire and comic-book kink as skirt chasing, wise cracking, dysfunctional PI Dev Haskell gets himself in over his head.
Hired by local ice cream mogul, Weldon Sofmann aka Mr. Softee, to find out who tried to kill him by ramming his Mercedes. The job should be as simple as a scoop of vanilla but what starts out as a hit and run, quickly turns into healthy serving of bizarre Rocky Road. As Dev investigates he learns that Mr. Softee is anything but. He's a ruthless 'entrepreneur' suspected of running a gambling operation from his fleet of trucks. He has a flash temper, a couple of man eating Dobermans, a mean streak a mile wide, a laundry list of people who want to do him in and a sex crazed girlfriend named Lola. Not to mention a crew of thugs you wouldn’t want serving an ice cream sandwich to your kid. Unless said kid was trying to get a bet down.
Dev uncovers a list of suspects that include the competition, a two ice cream truck operation run by the beautiful daughter of a man screwed over by Mr. Softee; at least their trucks don’t play annoying music that would drive a crazed father to justifiable homicide. There’s a disgruntled employees, Bernie Sneen, who was maimed for ‘dipping’ into the profits. Bernie hangs out in a bar called Dizzies. You could say Dizzies was a bit low on ambience, but that would suggest there might be some. Then there is his girl friend, Lola who may look like desert, but has a heart colder than a popsicle.
Dev quickly comes to the conclusion that it was probably an accident and reports this to Mr. Softee. But when Dev tries to invoice Mr. Softee he is assaulted and winds up arrested. Then the competition has their building blown up and their trucks torched and Bernie is found dead, taped to the rail road tracks and Dev is a suspect. Things go from bad to worse until Dev enlists the help of former client, sometime friend and felon, Tony "Dog" Colli. Murder, mayhem, double cross and bodies follow in their wake.
Mr. Softee is a bit darker and more dangerous than usual and Dev finds himself in over his head and on the wrong side of the law and wanted for a brutal murder. It’s a fast paced tale of bottom feeders, criminals, short skirts, and Dev stumbling into the deep end of a case with more twists than Baskin Robbins has favors. -
After reading the first book in the Dev Haskell series, and not being impressed by the characters, I decided to read the second story in the box set and give the author a chance at redemption. Reading this book, I've come to the realization that Mike Faricy's goal is to satirize the detective genre. As least, I hope that was his intention. If not, this series, and Devlin Haskell especially, is beyond salvaging.
.
The storyline: Haskell is hired by the local ice cream truck mogul to find out who tried to kill him in an auto accident. Along the way, Dev discovers that ice cream isn't all his trucks dispense; it's a moving bookie operation. The plot was more convoluted than the first story, and it was difficult for me to maintain interest in the story.
.
Here comes the previously advertised spoiler, so stop reading if you want to. Have you ever read a book that had you literally screaming at the pages? If you want to, try this scenario. There is an awful stench wherever the main character drives. His professional opinion as a private investigator? It's coming off the nearby river (the Mississippi River, BTW). I'm yelling at the book "Open the trunk, you stupid son-of-a-b***h!". It turns out, oh yeah, there's been a dead body planted in his car's trunk days ago.
.
I tried twice to enjoy this series, but the outrageousness of this entire saga has seriously underwhelmed me. I don't like having to post this low a review, but I cannot recommend this book or any of them. -
Devlin “Dev” Haskell, is a local Private Investigator, although not a very busy one!
He likes to sleep late, drink his Leinenkugel beer, visit seedy establishments, has some questionable friends, been married 3 times and likes any woman that will pay him a little attention.
Dev is hired by Weldon “Mr. Softee” Sofmann, to find out who tried to kill him. Mr. Softee is the local ice cream mogul that is hated by everyone who knows him, so there is a town full of suspects.
As Dev looks deeper into Mr Softee’s claim, he finds himself in over his head. He stumbles upon a gambling ring Mr. Softee and his “niece” have set up using the ice cream trucks. To try and silence him, a dead body is placed in his trunk, on a hot summer day, that he rides around with…ALL DAY! I cannot believe he didn’t realize that smell was coming from HIS trunk!
I found myself shaking my head…a lot!... How could one person get into so much trouble and have that much bad luck? Instead of telling the police and laying low he enlists the help of an old friend, Tony "Dog" Colli. Dog is a felon who has some unorthodox ways of getting the answers they need to prove Dev’s innocence.
This was a fast-paced, quick read with mystery and suspense with a good amount of humor thrown in! -
Here’s another adventure in the life of Dev Haskell – a wise-cracking detective who manages to get himself into more trouble than a barrel of monkeys. This time he’s hired by a businessman whose ice cream trucks dispense more than just fudgesicles. As Dev stumbles into a hornet’s nest, murder and mayhem ensue.
Mr. Faricy’s books are always entertaining – pure farce that moves at breakneck speed as hard-drinking, skirt-chasing Dev leaps from frying pan to fire. Never one to follow rules, he teams up with some pretty sketchy friends with hilarious results, and often breaks as many laws as the ‘bad’ guys.
Although these books are part of a series, they do not have to be read in order. For a fun romp, check them out! -
Oh PLEASE do not compare him to Carl Hiaasen. Because of that statement is why I started reading this series. There is no comparison. Sure some characters are a bit odd, but NOT ENDEARING as they are in Hiaasen's books.
I still don't like the main character Dev. I still call him a dumbass. His lady friends still need to be drunk to go to bed with him.
He couldn't figure out what to do next, so had to rely on his friend "Dog". Yep, Dev is a dumbass.
In the end, I still enjoy the mystery and reading the conclusion. I'll try the next book, but may not be able to continue if Dev doesn't grow up a bit. -
This book is a tale of wrong place, wrong time and wrong client. Dev is hired by Mr. Softee to find out who tried to murder him. Little did Dev know he was going to be set up to take the fall for a bunch of crimes. The author did a great job making you laugh through the whole book. You never knew what Dev was going to do next! WaAR
-
For me the books started of slow but as I kept reading it I just couldn't stop. It became interesting and I wanted to know how the book ended.
-
I grew up in the Bronx. We had Mr. Softee trucks, complete with annoying chimes. I guess in the St. Paul half of the twin cities they have Mr Swirlee driving parents nuts. Ice cream trucks seem innocent enough, but with the wrong owners there is apparently no end to their nefarious uses.
MR SWIRLEE is the second book in the Dev Haskell, Private Investigator series, and it is jamb packed with all the things you need for a page-turner.
Devlin Haskell is just trying to make it through life doing as little actual work as possible while making enough money to keep body and soul together. Somehow, trouble seems to find him no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. In the first book, we met his cop buddy, Aaron LaZelle, and his friend with benefits Heidi Bauer both of whom appear again in MR SWIRLEE. And now we meet Dog, known only to his mother as Anthony Colli.
MR SWIRLEE is filled with a lot of not-so-legal shenanigans alongside some really nasty criminal behavior. As you turn the pages, you'll find this book hard to put down until the final bell on the ice cream truck tolls. -
It's sort of semi-hard-boiled fiction. Devlin Haskel is a PI, who is not very good at his craft, and who is amazingly impetuous. He leaps into situations that are inherently a bad idea and ignores things that are obviously problems until such time as they bite him in the butt. Reading this reminds me of watching those old B&W "mystery/horror" movies from the 1940s where you keep screaming at the actor not to open that door...or whatever, but he does it anyway, and doesn't profit from the doing. This book involved some skullduggery out of ice cream trucks in their after hours.
I dunno, it was vaguely interesting, but certainly not all that great. I might read another in the series, but I'd be better off reading old cowboy books by B. M. Bower if I just want to idle away a few hours. This would be 3*- were GoodReads to allow such things. Note 3*- is better than 2*+. -
Another good one. I'm enjoying this series. I was hoping for something a bit on the lighter side, but still a good story. This series is delivering. I like Dev. He just stumbles along and manages make it in spite of everything. I also like that there's humor in the stories without the bumbling stupidity of another series this one has been compared to. This book kept me interested right up to the end.
-
I love the characters the author creates especially the main character, Dev. He is not perfect and often gets his butt handed to him but you’re laughing while you’re crying at his odd predicaments. I figured out this mystery very early on but it is so worth the read none the less. If you enjoy humorous fallible heroes, this series is for you.
-
Second book in the series
Dev Haskell is a private investigator working in St Paul, Minnesota. He doesn’t get many jobs so he takes whatever comes along. This time he is hired by an ice cream truck operator with a side job of bookmaking. That’s when the trouble starts. A good read. -
One of the better Dev adventures. He is hired by Mr. Swirlee, the head of a large ice cream truck company, to investigate an attempt on his life. But the job doesn't last long and Dev finds that Swirlee is a total jerk and is involved in a lot more than just selling ice cream. Dev finds himself in major trouble with the police.
-
Another Dev Haskell mystery that was solved with the help of very interesting sidekick. It was difficult to see how Dev and his friend were going to get out of the fix they were in right up to the end.
-
This is the second book in the series that I have read. Devlin Haskell has started to grow in me. He's no Myron Bolitar, but these books are fun to read. So I will keep reading the rest of this series.
-
Ok read.
This wasn’t quite as good as the first book.
It was good seeing recurring characters and somewhat interesting to meet new characters.
The plot meandered a bit too. I wasn’t entirely convinced of this book but I mostly enjoyed it. -
Devlin Haskell is a hard-bitten, hard-drinking PI who attracts trouble from left and right. This is a fast-moving book with short chapters. It kept my interest to the very end. I like the style of writing. I recommend this book to murder-mystery fans.
