Status
Available
Call number
Series
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Collection
Publication
Insomniac Press (2005), Paperback, 352 pages
Description
Charity Wiser, matriarch of the Wiser clan by virtue of her wealth and power, is an indomitable provocateurand private detective Russell Quant's newest employer. There is more than a single rotten apple on this family tree, and Quant has been hired to discover which one is intent on murdering his client. To help him sleuth out the evil culprit, Charity Wiser arranges a family reunion aboard the opulent Friends of Dorothy Cruiseliner as it tours the most exotic ports of the Mediterranean. But smooth sailing is short-lived as undercurrents of clashes -- local and tourist, gay and straight, trendy and traditional -- offer Russell insight into the Wisers and reveal a family simmering with rage and greed. He begins to wonder: Who doesn't want Charity Wiser dead? Shifting from his Prairie stomping ground to a sea undulating with murder, Quant's smarts, senses, and sea legs are challenged. In this captivating yet captive environment, family tensions mount and suspicions build. And Russell must balance his detective duties with safeguarding his client and protecting his own life. From the delight of tapas and sweet sangria in Spain to the bitter taste of death in Sicily, Quant connects and clashes with friends and foes in a series of unforgettable locales. Come aboard a sensual journey of sun and sea brine, caviar and champagne on a cruise replete with the luxury of murder.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Darrol
I am not a fan of the traveling elements of this book. This series is good because of the friends that surround the detective; not enough of them in this installment.
LibraryThing member ocgreg34
Charity Wiser, head of Wiser Meats and the head of the Wiser Clan, delights in tormenting her family with the monies she plans of divvying up in her will. Her form of torment, however, is unusual -- she forces the family to gather together for yearly Charity Events (Charity meaning her and not
To uncover who in the Wiser family has it in for her, Charity stages one final event and brings in Russell Quant, a gay private investigator. Charity's family will be gathering for a Mediterranean cruise aboard the Friend of Dorothy Cruiseliner -- a gay-friendly cruise chosen specifically to make her family uncomfortable. On top of that, she's let the family know that she plans on changing her will so it's up to Russell to untangle the web of greed and lies within the Wiser family before Charity -- or even Russell himself -- winds up dead in the water.
I liked the characters. Most of the gay/lesbian characters showed the diversity of the gay community -- from the sometimes in-your-face drag queens to the business-like lesbian captain of the ship -- and I like that Charity Wiser never hid her relationship with her lover Dottie from her family, no matter what they may have felt about it.
But it was the twists and turns of the story kept my attention. I never had a solid inkling as to who the murder could be thanks to all the re-directing of potential culpability. With many mysteries, it sometime becomes apparent early on in the story just who the guilty party is, but this story had so many different trails to follow that even I didn't know how Russell would pull off solving the mystery.
"Tapas on the Ramblas" is a fun mystery, something that is filled with enough interesting characters (from the Wiser clan and members of the ship's crew to two Mary and Rhoda drag queens), plot twists, well thought out red herrings, and murders to keep any reader entertained.
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actual charities). She finds either the most unsuitable location or runs the family through a horrendous onslaught of group activities, convincing them that this is what they need to do in order to garner a good spot in her will. At the last such event, though, someone finally had enough of the terrorizing and decided to take action, mistakenly poisoning her cat.To uncover who in the Wiser family has it in for her, Charity stages one final event and brings in Russell Quant, a gay private investigator. Charity's family will be gathering for a Mediterranean cruise aboard the Friend of Dorothy Cruiseliner -- a gay-friendly cruise chosen specifically to make her family uncomfortable. On top of that, she's let the family know that she plans on changing her will so it's up to Russell to untangle the web of greed and lies within the Wiser family before Charity -- or even Russell himself -- winds up dead in the water.
I liked the characters. Most of the gay/lesbian characters showed the diversity of the gay community -- from the sometimes in-your-face drag queens to the business-like lesbian captain of the ship -- and I like that Charity Wiser never hid her relationship with her lover Dottie from her family, no matter what they may have felt about it.
But it was the twists and turns of the story kept my attention. I never had a solid inkling as to who the murder could be thanks to all the re-directing of potential culpability. With many mysteries, it sometime becomes apparent early on in the story just who the guilty party is, but this story had so many different trails to follow that even I didn't know how Russell would pull off solving the mystery.
"Tapas on the Ramblas" is a fun mystery, something that is filled with enough interesting characters (from the Wiser clan and members of the ship's crew to two Mary and Rhoda drag queens), plot twists, well thought out red herrings, and murders to keep any reader entertained.
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LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
Way back in high school I once read a few mystery novels for one of my English classes. I enjoyed them well enough, but haven't really read many since. Tapas on the Ramblas is not a book I probably would have picked up to read were it not for my book club. For one reason, it is the third book in
Russell Quant is a private investigator located in the prairie city of Saskatoon (in the middle of the Saskatchewan province, for those unfamiliar with Canada). It's shaping up to be a rather nondescript fall when a young women enters his office on the behalf of her grandmother, Charity Wiser. A wealthy octogenarian, Charity is convinced that someone in her family is determined to kill her and wants Russell to find out who. Far from the types of cases he normally works, Russell takes the job, and the free Mediterranean Cruise Charity has arranged to get her family all in one place. But why hire Russell when she could hire virtually any private detective she wants? Because he's gay, of course.
Russell has his work cut out for him. It seems that everyone in the family has a good reason to need the inheritance money, but who is desperate enough to commit murder? Filled with colorful character and locations, twists and turns galore, and narrated by our audacious hero, the story was a quick and fun to read. Although there were references to the previous books and characters, they aren't essential to appreciate the story (although it would probably be nice.) There were a few loose ends left, as well, probably to be taken up by the novels that come afterwards. Overall, quite an enjoyable light read.
Experiments in Reading
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the Russel Quant Mysteries and I usually try to start with the first novel in a series. However, I found it quite delightful even without reading the two books that come before it.Russell Quant is a private investigator located in the prairie city of Saskatoon (in the middle of the Saskatchewan province, for those unfamiliar with Canada). It's shaping up to be a rather nondescript fall when a young women enters his office on the behalf of her grandmother, Charity Wiser. A wealthy octogenarian, Charity is convinced that someone in her family is determined to kill her and wants Russell to find out who. Far from the types of cases he normally works, Russell takes the job, and the free Mediterranean Cruise Charity has arranged to get her family all in one place. But why hire Russell when she could hire virtually any private detective she wants? Because he's gay, of course.
Russell has his work cut out for him. It seems that everyone in the family has a good reason to need the inheritance money, but who is desperate enough to commit murder? Filled with colorful character and locations, twists and turns galore, and narrated by our audacious hero, the story was a quick and fun to read. Although there were references to the previous books and characters, they aren't essential to appreciate the story (although it would probably be nice.) There were a few loose ends left, as well, probably to be taken up by the novels that come afterwards. Overall, quite an enjoyable light read.
Experiments in Reading
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LibraryThing member MDTLibrarian
The third installment of the series featuring Russell Quant, a gay private detective based in Saskatoon. In this story, Russell is hired by the eccentric matriarch of a wealthy Canadian family who believes that someone is trying to kill her. The plan to discover the truth is set aboard an upscale
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gay cruise ship in the Mediterranean. A well-written and entertaining mystery, typical of the whole series. Show Less
LibraryThing member tripleblessings
Third in the mystery series starring Russell Quant, private detective. Charity Wiser, wealthy matriarch of the Wiser clan, hires gay private detective Russell Quant to discover which of her family is trying to kill her. She arranges a family reunion aboard a cruise ship touring the Mediterranean,
The delightful ports of call from Spain to Sicily provide an intriguing background to this well-plotted mystery. Gay characters and scenes are convincingly portrayed. The plot leaves a few loose ends dangling, to be resolved in the next book.
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and as Quant gets to know the conflicted family, he begins to wonder: who doesn't want Charity Wiser dead?The delightful ports of call from Spain to Sicily provide an intriguing background to this well-plotted mystery. Gay characters and scenes are convincingly portrayed. The plot leaves a few loose ends dangling, to be resolved in the next book.
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LibraryThing member richardderus
Here we have is the third entry in the Russell Quant, Canadian Detective, series. As the third book, "Tapas on the Ramblas" seems to suffer from a curious wandering of the author's attention. I liked this book quite a lot, but I am no damn fool. The main mystery was resolved in a coldly practical
This tale, with its actual emotional stakes for my future husband (if I can figure out how to *pfoof* myself into fictional Saskatoon), resonates with this reader. His client, who hires him to resolve a rather shabby plotline that involves greed, power, and #gasp# S-E-X and the elderly girl, is so unpleasant that I wished the crime planned and telegraphed from page one had been committed. Oh oh! That was a spoiler!! (Well, not much of one...the back cover has the sentence: "He begins to wonder: Whodoesn't want Charity Wiser dead?" Not me.)
But Sereena Orion Smith, International Woman of Mystery! She's just a cool subplot away from stealing me from Mr. Russell Quant! Her many tales of life outside Saskatoon are never heard, which makes them far more effective than if they'd been presented on the page. (Think Maris Crane, from "Frasier"...how much better that we never see her, no?) Her curious choice of residence in a small prairie city in one of Canada's less errr hmmm ummm shall we say famous provinces becomes more and more odd as we see her moving through the larger world with aplomb and panache. It makes the deep shadows surrounding her all the more fascinating for Russell, and for me. I expect that Bidulka will do something with this, given the ending which I have to say was a surprise and not a pleasant one, but which made me very very very glad I ordered the entire series when I ordered the books!
Bidulka isn't a perfect writer, and his plotting of the mysteries is getting better each outing. It's necessary to point out that sometimes his near-miss word choices will make the erudite twitch a little. (No, I won't give examples, that's just poncey-stuffy-professor stuff.) But on balance, on balance...like the late, great Joseph Hansen's Dave Brandstetter, Anthony Bidulka's Russell Quant should be given a chance to lure the timid and straight into a good friendship with a good, morally sound, brave-reverent-thrifty gay crime solver. Recommended, with the caveat that you really need to start with book one, "Amuse Bouche".
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and predictable way, one I saw coming in pllleeennnty of time to wish Russell had as well; I felt the more interesting part of the story was the unsubtly drawn, but intentionally so, darkening of the clouds around Russell's fascinating neighbour (oh dear, I'm going Canadian) Sereena.This tale, with its actual emotional stakes for my future husband (if I can figure out how to *pfoof* myself into fictional Saskatoon), resonates with this reader. His client, who hires him to resolve a rather shabby plotline that involves greed, power, and #gasp# S-E-X and the elderly girl, is so unpleasant that I wished the crime planned and telegraphed from page one had been committed. Oh oh! That was a spoiler!! (Well, not much of one...the back cover has the sentence: "He begins to wonder: Whodoesn't want Charity Wiser dead?" Not me.)
But Sereena Orion Smith, International Woman of Mystery! She's just a cool subplot away from stealing me from Mr. Russell Quant! Her many tales of life outside Saskatoon are never heard, which makes them far more effective than if they'd been presented on the page. (Think Maris Crane, from "Frasier"...how much better that we never see her, no?) Her curious choice of residence in a small prairie city in one of Canada's less errr hmmm ummm shall we say famous provinces becomes more and more odd as we see her moving through the larger world with aplomb and panache. It makes the deep shadows surrounding her all the more fascinating for Russell, and for me. I expect that Bidulka will do something with this, given the ending which I have to say was a surprise and not a pleasant one, but which made me very very very glad I ordered the entire series when I ordered the books!
Bidulka isn't a perfect writer, and his plotting of the mysteries is getting better each outing. It's necessary to point out that sometimes his near-miss word choices will make the erudite twitch a little. (No, I won't give examples, that's just poncey-stuffy-professor stuff.) But on balance, on balance...like the late, great Joseph Hansen's Dave Brandstetter, Anthony Bidulka's Russell Quant should be given a chance to lure the timid and straight into a good friendship with a good, morally sound, brave-reverent-thrifty gay crime solver. Recommended, with the caveat that you really need to start with book one, "Amuse Bouche".
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LibraryThing member JimandMary69
We both enjoyed the novel. Would highly recommend it.
Subjects
Awards
Saskatchewan Book Award (Nominee — 2005)
Language
Original publication date
2005-09-01
Physical description
352 p.; 8.94 inches
ISBN
1894663977 / 9781894663977
Local notes
OCLC = 42
Google Books
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Google Books
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Other editions
Tapas on the Ramblas (Russell Quant Mysteries) by Anthony Bidulka (Paperback)