Bitch Slap

Mark Manning Mysteries, Book 7

By: Michael Craft

Narrated by: David Phillips

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Journalist Mark Manning has been successfully running his family's newspaper, The Dumont Daily Register, for several years now, and he sits on the board of two local companies, Quatro Press and Ashton Mills. So, when the respective CEOs of these companies discuss a merger, it is only natural that Manning be interested in the proceedings. What's more, Manning's lover Neil, an architect, is designing a new house for Ashton's CEO, Gillian Reece.

Reece is a business friend of Manning, but not a friend to many else; she is generally considered overly aggressive and fastidious. When Manning assigns Glee Savage, the newspaper's society reporter, to cover Reece's new home, the subsequent meeting between the two does not end well: Savage huffs off in a fury, but not before ferociously bitch-slapping Reece in front of everyone. With Reece's cheek still smarting, more bad news comes, as the accountant performing due diligence for the merger reports some very questionable items regarding Ashton's books.

It seems as though things couldn't go much worse for the unpleasant Reece. That is, until she is murdered. The discovery of her body is greeted with great surprise, but perhaps not much regret on the part of most who knew her. Still, with Manning's friend and employee Glee Savage as the obvious and primary suspect, he cannot resist wading in to this most unsound of business dealings.

©2004 Michael Craft (P)2022 Michael Craft

Me and Mulder wanted to believe

I disagree with the earlier reviewer only in that I feel this is one book, not to read. I am a great fan of the author and have the previous books. This is the 1st as an audio book. Possibly this is really by the author or maybe the usual straight woman writing as a gay man or someone ending their drag career. The projorative language and bitchiness was off putting. The waitress was "plump" and "waddled away...", but they "liked" her. Another of many examples is when Doug the close and totally accepting friend shows a limp wrist to ask if the guest is "Nelly." Maybe this was an unpleasant and distracting setting created by a narrator that sounded in his later years and not middle aged as the characters and whose apparently limited range made determing which character was speaking, difficult. The use of "lizzbion" for lesbian could have been narration. I stopped trying to listen to this, but will not go back to my written copy because I don't want to find this drag-like act to be what the author has always written. Did I use the word "cliche" in describing this narration?

Disappointing end to the series

I loved the Mark Manning series. However, this final book was very disappointing for me, as one the characters acted totally out of character for how we have come to know this character through the series. Very disappointing, though I still recommend reading this final book if you have enjoyed the other books in the series.