Mash Up (Detective Qigiq Book 1)

A mash up of your favorite action movies. A mash up of your favorite detective novels. A mash up of character types. A mash up of plot lines.This book was ok with me. Here's what I liked: the plot lines were a bit different. Being a professional musician, I appreciated the music descriptions and portraying the life of a young musician. I liked the main detective character and his partner. I liked the San Francisco local and descriptions. I liked the banter between most of the characters. It was a page turning, action-packed book. I loved the use of all of the modern technology, including the "virus" created to shame music pirates.I also liked the author's writing style. He is great at describing things and places and action.What I didn't like: oh my gosh was this preachy!!!!! I get the whole "stealing music off of the internet is bad thing" (I'm a professional musician). And after the first few chapters, the reader gets it, too. But then Chapter 36 is devoted purely to "those who steal music are evil and must be punished." And then 3/4 through the book, we are still being told about the deplorable act of stealing music (and books, movies, videos, pictures…) off of the internet. Quite heavy handed!!!I felt the action scenes were a bit too much for the streets of San Francisco, not as realistic as the plots, and definitely taken from the big screen all action movies (Bourne Trilogy, etc.). By action, I mean scene after scene of someone hunting down the main character via automobile, gun, stalking, and I won't give the rest away. This may appeal to some readers! I felt it was over the top.The mid-section of the book seems repetitive in action and storyline. There's a lot of men in their thirties lusting over young 20 somethings who are willing to get the attention to bankroll their lives. The book gets going again in the last third. Exciting, though implausible finish.I would have liked more back story on both Qigiq and Kandy. I'm fine with the ending, though it seemed rather open-ended (sequel maybe?). But I never got a good sense of why Qigiq was in San Fran, other than he needed to learn more about modern technology. And Kandy's character could have used more depth. Why is she such a cool bad ass? How did she get to where she is? More time on their backstory would have been preferable to the preachy music piracy diatribe.The edition I read had some quotation errors, a few typos, and a big problem with using the word Afro American.I would probably read a sequel to this, especially if I could learn more about Qigiq and Kandy.

The plot of this book is like a mash-up of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Mozart in the Jungle." Over-sexed music students and computer hackers are mixed up in a strange plot to publicly shame (and/or kill) people who steal music on the internet. I was somewhat put off by the way every male character (even the "good guys" were obsessed with breasts and every woman seemed to be wearing high heels with ankle straps. I bought it for 99 cents as a distraction, and it served its purpose, but I don't plan to read anything else by this author.

Unfortunately I am one who likes to finish what I've started. This book was twice as long as it needed to be. It is as if the writer was trying to explore a different and exhaustive writing style. It was absolutely unnecessary to drag us through so many boring details and to conclude the book in such a unfulfilling way. There was one character who was redeeming, well maybe one and a half, but, that didn't make up for the poor plot overall. By the end I struggled to pay attention and focus on the excessive twists and turns. The book ended with the loudest thud and left me so unsatisfied.I will say, I appreciate the effort that was put into research for this book. I feel as if the writer made a genuine effort to appear knowledgable on the various (and many) subjects in this book.

Although I liked it, I thought it had some lapses. IIt stopped just short of frustrating me with cyber techno-speak. One of the main protagonists is an Alaskan cop sent to San Francisco (one of my favorite cities) to catch up on the latest technology. he drives a hot Italian police motorcycle (Moto-Guzzi) which makes no sense because it would be useless in Alaska. His partner is a superwoman cop, and she' almost believaable. There' a techno-weenie named Ferdinand who isn't. It's fun if you don't think too hard. Since this Klingler's first book, I'm wonder if officer QuiQui(really; it's Inuit0 , like Marshal Sam McCloud will forget to go home.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because I thought some of the down and dirty sex was unrealistic, but then it could be me who is unrealistic.The characters are great. Lots of diversity in geeks, cops and criminals. The plot gets techy sometimes, but it is very interesting. I learned a lot about the music business and how illegality stifles it. The cop partners are terrific, although I would have loved more back story on Kandy about how she became who she is. Qugiq was really interesting and a bit more back story would have been great for him too.The crimes were compelling and diverse. They took place all over the country and the suspense was great right to the end. I definitely plan to read more from Joe Klinger! He knows how to weave a compelling tale and keep you guessing. How do I give it 4.5 stars?

Qigik?Mandy and Qigik, our intrepid detectives, hurtle from one puzzling twist to the next turn in this Klingler procedural.It's another fun read and statement about our digital lives tethered to devices that we really do not control.Plus, the regular human drama and baseness required to make the crime scenes which the detectives need to enter Stage Right.

This is an inventive and current plot, but too many rather 2 dimensional characters and an ending that is too coincidental. The main issue, though, is that it is much longer than need be - at least 25% - to get through the story line. I had started it once before, and this time made it through, but I was quite bored through much of the rehashed Mash.

Qigiq and Kandy are appealing cops in a tightly plotted, fast paced thriller. It's a little unrealistic as police procedural and it's full of drop-dead gorgeous oversexed young bikini-clad. But if anything, that made it a better read.