City of Beads (Tubby Dubonnet, #2) by Tony Dunbar

City of Beads (Tubby Dubonnet, #2) Reviews

• 
  Maureen

  Good entertainment when you need a break. Like the characters.
• 
  Stanley McShane

  Set in New Orleans, City of Beads by Tony Dunbar, highlights the mystique that is New Orleans. Attorney Tubby Dubonnet is pulled back from his sabbatical to investigate the murder of former friend and client Potter Aucoin. As with any large city, it's a toss-up as to who controls the political scene--perhaps the gambling side of life with dark, mob-connected casino bosses or the Asian network connection of crawfish farmers tapping into the lucrative food-driven side of New Orleans big money. It's not enough that Tubby is involved in the investigation of the murder, but additionally takes on the cause of his college-age daughter and her university environmental group seeking to protect and save the Mississippi River from toxic pollutants being dumped illegally into the river.
  
  Tubby doesn't have his fingers into one proverbial pie, but several, and manages to rescue Tania in one of several sub-plots; beautiful and mysterious, but off-limits to a white, middle-age hard-drinking and eating connoisseur. Tubby has been around long enough to tap into a fine network of support--thank heaven--and he needs it as he discovers not one but several of his current files manage to converge into one very large and complicated conspiracy!
  
  Better hang on to the changing scenes; Tubby has all ten fingers in different pies, but at least his life and his law practice are no longer boring and every now and then he triumphs over evil.
  
• 
  Scot

  Entertaining criminal investigation novel featuring a well-fed late middle aged lawyer named Tubby Dubonnet as the hero. Wonderful sense of evoking place: the setting is New Orleans and one call tell the author not only knows the range of traditions and perspectives possible in that singular city, he relishes them. Tubby begins to see some intriguing connections between a series of disparate cases he is involved in given the wide range of clientele he has—he is sensible about working for the big bucks as needed, but also can’t stop looking out for the underdog or marginalized in society, particularly when he feels this type of person isn’t getting the respect everyone is due as a human being. Tubby sees the dignity and value in folks others might walk right past on the street.
  
  As he becomes more involved in uncovering the complex web of interconnected corruption and misrepresentation, we are obligingly pulled deeper into the story. The dialogues were believable, the plot interesting. I’m glad he didn’t wisecrack all the time—sometimes you just want a buddy you can hang silently with while you do some lazy fishing in the bayou. If you’re in the mood for that kind of a hero, and you like to hear delicious food described and savored, this is a fine summer read. Second in a series, but I got along perfectly well without reading the first.
  
• 
  Bert

  This is the second crime mystery novel involving New Orleans lawyer Tubby Dubonnet. There's carefully-crafted continuity from the plot outline of the first book. Tubby's still got a warm place in his heart for the underdog, and he still shares his attraction for alcoholic beverages. The author has quietly magnificent metaphors and euphemisms that help with his colorful descriptions of The Big Easy. I know this isn't more than light entertainment for most readers, but the masterful way that plot emerges makes readers forgiving of what to nonbelievers of the novel genre would be stretches of credibility. And I like the fact that Tubby teaches criminal procedure at Loyola University of New Orleans, and tells his friend when he's worried about his personal safety to stretches to it that his kids graduate from there if he's killed. Jesuit products make good lawyers, and good storytellers. My rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
• 
  Joyce

  
  
  Tubby Dubonnet is an attorney in New Orleans who is somewhat bored with his life. He has a nice office, a decent secretary, an ex-wife he avoids and three daughters. He is also somewhat of a fixture in N.O. All of this lends color to the novel, but does little to add to its plot or characterizations. It isn't a bad book. But unfortunately it also isn't a good book either. Mediocrity seems to have found its own level.
• 
  Michael Mardel

  City of Beads by Dunbar was an eye-opener for me about life in New Orleans coming from Australia. I enjoyed the pathos and never doubted that Tubby would rise above the sordidness of his characters, even death. Life on the Mississippi was also interesting and the characters were well-rounded.
• 
  Tulay

  Good story.
  
  Thriller with many twists, keeps you guessing. New Orleans gambling, fishing how they operate. Humorous, entertaining reading. Like Tubby character a lot.
• 
  Jen

  I picked up City of Beads when one of my many daily “oh hey, free eBooks!” emails rolled in letting me know this was a free mystery selection. And then it sat on my eReader for a few years until I got around to actually reading it. I wanted a mystery, and was tired of the stuff I’d put on my To Be Read list, so I went poking around the archives for a good mystery and stumbled on this one.
  
  I suppose from its name alone, I should have known that this was going to be about New Orelans, but what I didn’t realize was that Tubby Dubonnet is a lawyer. He doesn’t do a lot of lawyering. He does a lot more fishing and open container driving. Except for those two aspects, he reminds me of my father - a man who happens to also be a lawyer, lover of good food, and someone who loves his daughter.
  
  I don’t know how well he is introduced in the first book, as I jumped right in to book two of the series (this one), but I related to him almost as alterna-dad.
  
  First, I feel it would be remiss if we didn’t spend a moment to provide a moment of admiration for the fact that the author wrote a whole book with someone whose last name was “Aucoin”. The chemist in me kept correcting the elemental symbol in her head.
  
  It also rang so very true that Tubby’s daughter would be asking him to do pro-bono work for her college pursuits. Yep, guilty as charged. And like alterna-dad, actual-dad did it to the best of his ability. (and still does)
  
  What surprised me the most is that this mystery seemed to happen to and around Tubby without him being an active participant. Others did all of the work and he just sort of sat there dumbfounded as the work, once done, was dropped in his lap. This was the first time I’ve encountered such a style, and I have to say that I’m going to keep this series as a To Read because I found that I quite liked it. The protagonist isn’t keeping secrets from the reader because the protagonist learns as the reader does.
  
  And, what surprised me most of all? Being a free Kindle selection, this book had clearly been edited. Wow! Every single one of five stars for that one!
• 
  Deborah

  This book is about a divorced lawyer in New Orleans and the cases he works. It is part of a series and I am becoming quite fond of him. He works, but not too hard, he cares for others and he wants to fall in love again. And he is a foodie. The author weaves in stories about the city, its people and its food that makes me want to go back again.
  
  In this book, Tubby's friend is found dead in a tanker of vegetable oil, and his daughter has joined a college environmental group trying to identify and stop local businesses from dumping toxic waste into the Mississippi river. She talks him in to doing pro bono work for them, and he finds himself in the crosshairs of some not so nice people while trying to help solve the murder and help his daughter. A couple of other cases find him falling for two different women, but ended up with neither. And he bought a neighborhood bar, where the locals and his friends hang out.
  
  This is a fun series so far. Sometimes it is hard to follow which storyline you are reading because they abruptly changes from one to another, more like you would see in a tv show changing scenes. But once you are used to that, it is an easy read.
  
  
• 
  Nancy

  It is 103 degrees outside and I am entering my couch potato binge-reading period. And, what could be more fun than a day with Tubby Dubonnet ? I suspect that I am predisposed to enjoy this series because I am just plain tickled that the protagonist's name is Tubby, but I guess there are worse reasons for enjoying a character.
  
  Upon reflection, what really engages me with Dunbar's character is his personal code of ethics. I enjoy books with a little moral ambiguity and a strong character that stands up for his friends. In this way, Tubby Dubonnet reminds me of the fictional Easy Rawlins, who I also enjoy immensely.
  
  When I am spending time with a character with shades of gray---combined with lots of light--I am a happy reader. I am looking forward to the next three books in my "omnibus edition" of Dunbar's books.
• 
  Abbie

  Hilarious Tubby
  
  Tony Dunbar shines the furniture in every scene and his characters are so real you can. Picture them in your mind walking in New Orleans. The tourists are all excited and or intoxicated and the locals are just trying to the get past the tourists.
  Tubby, as usual, does more business out of the office than in. As an attorney, clients come to him with their problems but today it's his daughter. This is not a good thing. No way Tubby can stop digging to find the truth, his own family is being threatened. Tubby takes his problem to his friends.
  
  Buckle up, This novel is a fast ride into the big easys sinister side.
• 
  Shirley Wetzel

  City of beads
  
  Lawyer Tubby Dubonnet defends those in need for payments ranging from one praline to a five dollar bill. For the high and mighty, the bill is quite a bit higher. In City of Beads, he defends a client who's slipped through the system, protects a young woman from a brutal gang, and assists his daughter in a college case against polluters with skill and heart. The city of New Orleans, in all its glory and color, comes alive in the page.
• 
  Wendell Hennan

  More enjoyable than the first Tony Dunbar book I read, more believable. Tubby Dubonnet investigates the death of his friend Potter Aucoin, whose body was found in a barrel of corn oil on a barge tied up to the property of Bayou Disposal. At the same time he is hired to do some legal work for a Casino who pay very well and involve Tubby in some characters who are pivotal to the story. Still too many characters involved, but never the less, it was an interesting story.
• 
  Ginney Etherton

  This was just complicated enough without making it a chore to figure out. I liked that all the characters are realistic and interesting individuals with backstories (not too heavyhanded). There's enough well-described action to keep the plot moving. Dunbar has a way of writing impactful scenes with no wasted words. You get the feel of everyone in the room. This was a fun read, enough so that I will have to read the first of the series.
• 
  John

  Book #2 of a Box Set.
  
  Again, an interesting story. Some characters have from Book #1 have travelled over to this book, and a lot of new characters have been well-introduced. The main character, Tubby, does get himself involved in some shady individuals and a variety of legal matters. Once again the author entwines a lot of the characters activities to come to a conclusion at the end. No cliff-hangers, and the last couple of chapters act as an epilogue.
  
  Recommended read. Onto Book #3.
• 
  Richard Bradley

  Great character. Good story.
  
  This is a a really interesting character. Set in New Orleans, a great background for any story, this is the second book in the series that i have read. Loved both, especially this one. Definitely will fit to the rest. The author can write well and tells great stories.
  
• 
  Anne

  Enjoyable tale set in New Orleans, with a lawyer rather than a detective at the heart of the story. I particularly liked the description of the area and I am currently in a Cajun and Creole cooking phase, so reading this gave interesting background.
• 
  Ricardo

  A refreshing, short, entertaining read to clean the mind between two heavier-weight books. The taste of New Orleans gives these lawyer-playing-detective tales more than just average whodunit webs of deceit. Could read more of these.
• 
  Fiona Zakka

  A tubby dubonett story
  
  One of the stories featuring tubby dubonett a layer in New Orleans that is also part detective. The fictional layer is a nice man with morals and a lax approach to life. This is the second book I read and it is as good as the one I read before.