(Review) Perfectly Healthy Man Drops Dead by Bruce Hartman

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I read this book based on the recommendation from the author of another book I had recently read.  The Kindle version was an unbelievably low price, so I figured, "why not?"  I could give it half of a chance.

This book gives the reader the impression of a 1940's pulp detective novel.  Right from the beginning, I developed a mental image of the narrator that was so in depth I could hear his voice retelling me the story.  The initial impression of Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe never left me.  The character even sounded like him in my head.  I easily visualized the character wearing a tan fedora in a poorly lit room.

The story was wonderfully told from the protagonists perspective never giving away any detail for which he would not have been mistakenly aware.  You learn the details of the crime and the evidence as the antagonist learns it.  Though you are left at times to make your own assumptions and draw your own conclusions, they are never ahead of the plot and keep the book moving at a quick pace.

There are a multitude of characters in the book.  Each is well defined to the point where you can read a quote and tell which character is speaking.  As in life, some are likable and others are not so much.  But each is developed well enough that you can surmize the motivations of each.

Overall this was a well written book and one I was glad to have recommended to me.  I look forward to reading other books by this author.