It pains me a little to give a Lawrence Block anything less than a top rating because I've always loved his books so much. This one, though, while enjoyable, just didn't catch me as much as some others. I like the characters of Chip Harrison and his boss, but I suppose I unavoidably compare them to Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe (which of course I'm supposed to do) and they just don't quite make it. Still, the writing is good, the plot interesting, and I'd read more about these characters. I listened to it all in one day while I cleaned the house, and it definitely worked for that! Just didn't love it. ( )

Chip Harrison & Leo Haig solve murder of topless dancer, parody of other writers

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3261103.html

A rather slight mystery story set in contemporary (ie mid-70s) New York. The narrator, Chip Harrison, is apparently based on the unpleasant Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye, but has grown up a little bit and is working as assistant to Leo Haig, a New York detective explicitly based on Nero Wolfe but with comic differences. It has a memorably unerotic blowjob scene.

Like Make Out With Murder, it begins with a young naked woman being poisoned to death, and end with Haig exposing the murderer in his study in front of all the other suspects and two reluctantly impressed policemen. In between both have a rambling plot involving several more murders, and plenty of sex for the narrator. There is a struggle towards social commentary which doesn’t quite get anywhere. It’s pretty mindless stuff which I might have found funnier if I had ever actually read a Nero Wolfe book. ( )

I don't know what to think of The Topless Tulip Caper by Lawrence Block. I think, it was a case of missed expectations.

First: the title of the book leads one to think that it will involve a con in some way, or a heist. Neither of which was the case. It was a straight forward case of murder.

Second: the person who had written up the back of my issue had certainly not read the book. Everything was wrong. Even the cover art had almost nothing to do with the story. So again, expectations were wrong.

For these two points I would have to lay the blame on the editor or publisher.

Third: some reviews have called this a spoof of Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. I must admit I was confused as to why a writer like Block would write such an obvious knock-off. (The names are changed and Haig collects fish instead of orchids.) It did have the sarcastic humor of a hard-boiled detective but the humor seemed too subtle for it to be a spoof.

So, I was left with a Nero Wolfe book that wasn't a Nero Wolfe book. If I could judge it apart from that then it was good. But, because of these three things - it only gets three stars from me. ( )

In a spoof of Nero Wolfe and others, Chip Harrison is a young, not-so-tough, quick-witted, horny, apprentice/Boswell to not-so-super detective Leo Haig, in a case revolving around the "fishy" deaths of 123. The motley cast of characters includes 2 spectacularly endowed nude dancers, a Chinese houseboy/gourmet chef, and all the usual suspects.

The story is dialog-driven, with a predictable plot - it's a spoof, after all - and will keep you turning page after page. Boring it's not - witty and funny, definitely. ( )