Free Fall: A John Ceepak Mystery (John Ceepak Mysteries) (edition 2013)

It's with a real sense of sadness that I've come to the end of this marvelous series. I live in hope that Chris Grabenstein will see fit to continue it. It's always been filled with (often) laugh-out-loud humor-- and Free Fall certainly isn't an exception-- but the real reason I love these books is the growth of Danny Boyle's character. At the beginning, he's a rather lazy kid who wants to do good and have a good time on the beach, but he lacks real direction. That's where John Ceepak fits in. Ceepak is a truly good man who sometimes seems to be too much of a straight arrow to be real, but he's the role model Danny Boyle was hungering for. Now in the eighth book, Danny has grown up. He's had to do some really tough things in the line of duty. He's been affected by them and is still facing the consequences, but he's no longer a kid. Now the team of Ceepak and Boyle is a true partnership. And it makes you proud... as though you had something to do with it.

The suspect pool in Free Fall is long and distinguished, and it's simply a matter of narrowing it down to the right person and the right motivation. Sometimes those are the most enjoyable mysteries to solve.

If you enjoy mysteries filled with action, intriguing investigations, marvelous characters and emotions that run from gales of laughter to (now and then) brushing a tear from your eye, I heartily recommend Chris Grabenstein's Ceepak and Boyle mysteries. Begin at the beginning with Tilt-a-Whirl. The entire series is a delight. ( )

I had been disappointed in the book just before this one in the series. I thought in that book Danny was getting tiresome, and Ceepak was not featured very much. This book has gotten back on track.

The mystery is a bit more detailed than usual, and there is a huge personal component to the story that had been missing in the last book. Some things were resolved in a very unexpected (but much welcome) way... I am not sure what this will mean for the next book in the series (assuming there is one), but I think the resolution here was fitting, and necessary.

Otherwise... the tone and pacing, and mystery level of this novel are pretty much the same quality as they were in the other books in the series: A+. ( )

Ceepak and Danny are faced with the possibility of the murder of a 97 year-old man. As usual, Danny knows several of the people tangled in the web of murder, including a young woman who was serving as a home health aide, Christine.

There are several complications, one of which is the arrival from Ohio of Ceepak,s father, Joe "six pack" Ceepak. Joe is after his ex-wife again, living under the delusion that they are not married nor annulled, and he is entitled to $1 million of her inheritance.

There is a nod to the devastation from Hurricane Sandy but some hope in the fact that the town of Sea Haven is recovering and looking forward to a good summer season.

For me the Ceepak books aren't about the mystery, although I love the mystery they are about the relationships. Danny and Ceepak, Ceepak and his parents, Danny and his legion of friends, Ceepak and his wife and step-son.

There wasn't enough of Rita and TJ in this book but that's okay, I'm sure they will be back soon.

The bad thing about reading these books is the long wait for the next in the series. Thankfully Grabenstein writes several series and I can get a fix with with Riley Mack, Zack or any of the other marvelous characters he knows how to craft. ( )

This is the eighth book in Chris Grabenstein's John Ceepak mystery series. John Ceepak and Danny Boyle are police officers in the "Sunny, Funderful" Jersey Shore town of Sea Haven. Ceepak, a former soldier, has a very strict code of ethics and behavior, Danny, not so much. But as the series progresses, Danny sees the wisdom of Ceepak's code, and begins to integrate it into his own life.

This installment starts out with Danny being called to one of the mansions on the beach to mediate an argument between two women, one of whom he knows, but then, he knows pretty much all of the young women in Sea Haven, and has dated most of them at one time or another. The argument, between the lady of the house and a home health care aide, has turned physical, and Danny has to separate the two. The homeowner can't let it go, though, and files charges against the aide.

Ceepak's parents play a large part in this book. Ceepak is now married, living in a small apartment above a bagel shop, and has helped his mother move into a senior retirement complex. His drunken, abusive father also shows up. He resents the fact that his ex-wife, Ceepak's mother, has inherited a couple of million dollars from an aunt and didn't share it with him. He's not going away until he forces her to pay him off, one way or another.

I have read all of the Ceepak books and enjoyed them all. This one was no exception. I confess to not being that crazy about plotlines involving Ceepak's father, and am more interested in the relationship between Ceepak and Danny, and also in the various romantic entanglements that Danny finds himself in. I also very much enjoy the depiction of Sea Haven, a typical beach town, but all in all, this was a great book, and I read it throughout the course of one Sunday, imagining myself in Sea Haven along with Ceepak and Danny.

I received this book from NetGalley in return for a review; I was not paid for this review, nor required to post a positive review. ( )

Free Fall: A John Ceepak Mystery takes readers back to “sunny, funderdull” Sea Heaven. Like the rest of the coastline nearby, the eighteen mile long barrier island that holds Sea Heaven, New Jersey, was seriously damaged by Hurricane Sandy last fall. The residents survived, rebuilt, and are more than ready to put the past behind them. It is June and that means the start of the tourists and the start of the summer season. It also means the past is never gone especially when the living remind Officer Danny Boyle of it.

Christine Lemonopolous easily reminds Danny of the past and it comes with pain. Back in the day she was good friends with Katie who was Danny’s love of his life until she was killed. Like a lot of the people Danny knew when he and Katie were together, he lost track of Christine. Instead of being a nurse in a local hospital, these days Christine works as a home health care nurse for the elderly, disabled, and those who need her help. She struggles to make ends meet and relies on several jobs with living arrangements to barely get by.

She also is now going to rely on Danny and by extension John Ceepak to save her from an escalating legal situation. There is no question she was fighting the wealthy Shona Oppenheimer when police arrived on scene. The facts behind the situation and whether it truly was an assault are in question. It doesn’t help that Christine has a less than stellar mental health reputation these days; some of her patients have died in the past, and other issues.

This latest in the series is another fun read featuring Danny Boyle, John Ceepak, and others that readers know and love. As always multiple story lines are present here and include references to families and politics with much familial angst present. It wouldn’t be one of these mysteries without references to Ceepak’s rules, Bruce Springsteen, and a few other things. Free Fall: A John Ceepak Mystery is another fun read, on and off the boardwalk, and an excellent way to start the summer.

Reviewer Note: Sharp eyed readers may note the brief mention of a very minor character by the name of “Kevin Tipple.” I had the honor of having my name selected by the author for his use as he saw fit in the book. While the character and I share a name, we share nothing else in common and that very brief use did not impact this review.

FREE FALL: A JOHN CEEPAK MYSTERY
Chris Grabenstein
http://www.chrisgrabenstein.com
Pegasus Crime
http://www.pegasusbooks.us
Scheduled release May 2013
ISBN# 978-1-60598-475-9
Hardback
320 Pages
$25.00

ARC sent to me by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013 ( )