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4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
134 global ratings
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4 star
18%
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2 star
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L. Jenkins
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars Wannabe Detective, Marty in Trouble & in the Thick of it Once Again
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2019
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More deadly funny business has wise guy and wannabe ace detective, Marty Golden, tracking clues and helping police solve a multi-jurisdictional case. On an overnight camping trip with his niece Marty literally trips over the dead body of his friend and poker buddy. As usual, Marty’s life is chaotic already, but he is sure he is on the trail to finding the killer. Marty keeps plucking at loose ends and driving everyone he interviews nuts.

I enjoyed this fast-paced humorous, mystery just as much as Uncle and Ants. Marc Jedel keeps the intensity while keeping the comedic activity constantly bubbling. His writing is clever, and the plotting is meticulous and exceptionally well-executed. Many of the same characters that were introduced in Uncle and Ants are back but the author does not fail to introduce new wacky minions to the ensemble, along with a new girlfriend and his crazy cousin.

This book is a gem with its great plotting and unusual cast. I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by Laurie-J
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🥇Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Light, fun mystery
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2019
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So, a forty year old divorced guy gets roped into chaperoning his niece on a Girl Scout campout. He wanders off down a forest path and stops to take a whizz. While looking for a secluded place to do so, he sees a dead body which, shockingly, turns out to be a friend of his. He feels certain his friend didn’t die of natural causes and wants to help the police.

The story follows his attempts to puzzle out the death while revealing a whole host of quirks about him. In real life, he’s a code-writing software engineer, with a tendency toward nerdiness, Star Trek, watching sports, and a fanciful imagination. He’s also a lovable uncle to two young nieces, a father, and trying not to screw up a budding romance.

I enjoyed this book. The story is light and fun and the author has a particularly nice writing style. I could pick out quite a few friends of mine who think exactly the way the star of the book, Marty Golden, thinks throughout the story. This made it all the more interesting to me. It has a good ending. I might have page-flipped through some of the imaginative musings.

This book features no graphic sex, no graphic violence, and no foul language.
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Howard
5.0 out of 5 stars A great sequel to Uncle and Ants!
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2019
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Chutes and Ladder continues the saga of Marty Golden and his pursuit of professional achievement in his day job as a Silicon Valley software engineer while growing his relationship with his sister, nieces and new girlfriend, with the ongoing interruptions of his hobby as a criminal investigator.

His planned weekend with his girlfriend becomes a Girl Scout camping trip with his oldest niece during which he discovers the murder of his old friend and regular player at his monthly poker game. His pursuit of the truth about what happened leads him on a journey where both he and the reader learn more about the people in both his personal and professional life, and the twists and turns that resulted in the death of his friend, all the while immersed in corporate intrigue. And of course, while the story of his friend's murder is complete, the ending makes it clear that Marty will be facing new adventures very soon.

Chutes and Ladder is an enjoyable read, with a growing cast of interesting characters, and new insights into returning characters. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
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Ileen C
5.0 out of 5 stars Uncle Marty To the Rescue! A Laugh A Minute!
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2019
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Chutes and Ladder was a fun read as it took Uncle Marty on lots of quirky twists and turns as he tried to find out what happened to his friend that he found dead while chaperoning his niece’s Girl Scout camping trip.

There were an abundance of laughs in this clever mystery that was even funnier than the first book in the series, Uncle and Ants.

Both set in the Silicon Valley, Uncle Marty, coworkers, and his sister and two nieces had some crazy computer-related adventures and food and horses played parts, too.
Not to mention ever present law enforcement heroes.

If you want to see how it all fits together and laugh along the way, pick up Chutes and Ladder. Although I bought a copy, I did receive an advance copy so I could write about it when it came out.

Enjoy reading this funny book!
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j
5.0 out of 5 stars Another funny adventure
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2019
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with Marty, his nieces, and the rest. This time Marty is trying to solve a friend's murder, which everyone else says in an accident. From Marty's adventures camping with Girl Scouts to ninjas, the story moves quickly and leaves you laughing on the trip! This is a great second novel from the author of Uncles and Ants, another great read. The book moves quickly and leaves you wanting more! When is the next one coming?!? I received an advanced copy, but I had it marked to purchase as soon as it came out any way! You will really enjoy this humorous book!!
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Judy Beggs
4.0 out of 5 stars Goofy and Fun
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2019
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Chutes and Ladders is the second book in the Silicon Valley Mystery series. This humorous cozy mystery features Marty Golden as the easily distracted, sometimes bumbling, but always good-hearted hero. A self-described geek, he roams from one adventure to another, discovering a dead body in an unlikely place and then fantasizing about partnering with the police as a secret detective to discover the murderer. His imagination sends him into frequent “sidetrack reveries” and creative brainstorms which he follows into many entertaining exploits.
Marty works as an engineer designing features for autonomous cars. He enjoys a great verbal interplay at the office with his co-worker, Raj, as they try to one-up each other with the use of American idioms. Technological advances like self-driving cars and smart devices that are still in our future are realities in the book and add a lot of color to the story.
Marty’s cousin, sister and nieces all play their part to make this a fun, light-hearted read.
I enjoyed the opportunity to read this book in advance and am looking forward to Book 3!
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LJ S
5.0 out of 5 stars Go Marty!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2019
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Marty is such a sweet disarming character with a big heart. Everyone knows someone a little quirky, oblivious, geeky, and self effacing. He also has tremendous luck to always come out of tricky situations smelling like roses. In this by, we get to learn more about Marty as an uncle, boyfriend, brother, friend, and “cuz.” There’s more to enjoy and I look forward to the next one!
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Top reviews from other countries

Sabine Foster
4.0 out of 5 stars funny mystery with some crazy theories...
Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2019
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3.5 stars
The second humorous mystery around software engineer Marty Golden and his family. It went off to a good start when he took the girls to the (all) girl scout camping trip and discovered the body of one of his poker friends in the woods.
While "supporting the police investigation" most of his wild theories were so out of this world that I couldn't even be bothered to let the words enter my brain. Other than that I had a great time with this fast paced mystery and will read the next one.
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Francesco Miticocchio
1.0 out of 5 stars Not worthwhile
Reviewed in Italy on June 2, 2019
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For this book the basic writing is put together with a poor plot. It seems as if the author just has to get another book done, with continuous flash backs to yhe previous book and not too much to add.
Also the end comes all of a sudden, without to much explanation of what has happened and why. Was the editor on the author’s neck for publishing?
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