The Labyrinth

The Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mysteries, Book 8

By: Owen Parr

Narrated by: Randy McCarten

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

She was the perfect wife - so who killed her?

The widower says his wife was killed by gangs - but now he’s running for Mayor of New York City. Just to be sure (or else to portray himself as a properly mourning husband), he hires PIs Joey Mancuso and Father Dom to solve the murder. Only they can’t help noticing he’s pushing them to come to the gang conclusion as well. Hey, is something fishy here?

Joey Mancuso, his priest half-brother - Father Dom - and their crack team have got their work cut out for them. A year ago, a Brooklyn politician’s wife was brutally murdered, seemingly in a terrible burglary gone wrong. But no one really knows: the case remains unsolved. The mourning politician hires Mancuso to solve the cold case - right before announcing his plan to run for mayor of New York City. Oh, and in that same speech, the politician blames his wife’s death on gang violence.

Well...none of the gangs in Brooklyn seem to have it out for the politician’s family. Plus, the politician may have a straying eye - there are rumors of the affair. It’s a labyrinthine puzzle, the kind Joey (forever inspired by his hero, Holmes) delights in. Mancuso and Co. take to their office - which doubles as a bustling, Lower Manhattan cigar bar - and delve into Joey’s strangest mystery yet.

Joey Mancuso’s latest adventure is a gritty tour of a side of Brooklyn that’s rarely seen anymore; any fan of The Wire will find a lot to love in the gripping gang politics. Plus, author Parr weaves in the ritzy drama of upper class New Yorkers, all of whom have sordid secrets....

Anyone who loves Matt Scudder or Father Brown will adore Joey and Father Dom. Fans of both New York PI novels and police procedurals like Nelson DeMille’s John Corey, and those by Raymond Chandler, Joseph Wambaugh, Lawrence Block, and Rex Stout will love this motley detective team. As will devotees of clerical mysteries and the greatest detective of all time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

©2021 Owen Parr (P)2021 Owen Parr

Father Dom & Joey Mancuso Mystery

Owen Parr enjoyed your series of mysteries with Joey, Father Dom, & the whole group!
Such Labyrinth plots in all of the books! Can't wait to see Joey and Marcella as parents in the next book!

But it was an enjoyable ride!

Joey puts on his Sherlock cap, solves the case & engineers a Keystone Cop ending! Too contrived? Perhaps. But it was an enjoyable ride!

Best book in series

This is the best book in the series. I listened to it. And listen again. I have listen to this book at lease 5 times since buying it. Its October 21st 2021. The storyline is really complicated but how Mr Parr weaves the tale keeps you intrigued. Thank you Mr Parr for a brilliant book.

Eight Books In And Still Surprises Me

There’s something about an Owen Parr mystery novel that I just eat up. Granted, this is at least my eighth one in the Joey Mancuso & Father O’Brian series, but every time these books seem to surprise me. This also isn’t the first time that I felt like I got more than one mystery solved in the same novel. This time I was treated to two mysteries solved and I loved every moment of it.

I was sitting here listening to the book and enjoying it when I go, wait for a second, there’s no way it’s done. I wasn’t even around 50% done and it seemed like the first victim was completely wrapped up. Now, I know that Parr is able to string out the story for a while and he usually has me hanging on every word as Mancuso uses his Sherlock Holmes-like approach to solving murders. But I ended up pausing the book to figure out what the heck was going on. Then, he throws a curveball I should have seen coming but didn’t. And then I was off, reading another half of the book to figure out the bigger picture that he was painting the whole time.

The Labyrinth was an interesting book and I think it was the first time that Mancuso had to utilize lots of outside players to help out which I found fascinating. He was able to call on different people for different things (while only calling in one “favor”). This is all while his wife is pregnant with their first child. That angle alone gave it such a different feeling. Mancuso has something to lose now… well two somethings, and that changed the way that he approached things (only slightly).

Overall, I thought that this was another excellent mystery and definitely my favorite mystery series. Parr delivers every time and just knocks it out of the park. I love when Mancuso comes up with a plan or an idea and thinks he’s the only one that’s keyed in on it when someone else can see that sparkle in his eye that he’s up to something. Throw in the excellent narration by McCarten and it was a book that I won’t soon forget!

Thrilling!

I was riveted! I love these books and sometimes I’m as inpatient as father Dom I WANT JOEY TO JUST TELL ME WHAT HE’S THINKING! 😁
Good book now on to the next.