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by: David Housewright
List Price: $24.95Amazon.com's Price: $13.10 You Save: $11.85 (47%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Audio Download
Label: audible.com
Manufacturer: audible.com
Publisher: audible.com
Studio: audible.com
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Housewright's Edgar Award-winning first novel, Penance, introduced readers to Holland Taylor, a wisecracking, cynical ex-cop turned PI. Now Taylor takes on a shocking embezzlement case that puts millions of dollars, the reputations of the city's most powerful people--and even Taylor's own life--on the line...
'Housewright follows up his Edgar-winning debut with a greased lightning tale of scam and counterscam.'-- Kirkus Reviews
'A colorful cast of characters.'-- Cleveland Plain Dealer
'Excellent.'-- Nevada Barr
'Clever...believable...lively.'-- Philadelphia Inquirer
Amazon.com Review:
At first, reading about Holland Taylor might seem like déjà vu. He's a former cop turned private detective; he has an African American associate who covers his back, a high-level friend on the police force, and a smart lady who tries to keep him on the straight path. He also practices martial arts, brews exotic coffee, and favors a special brand of local beer. But author David Housewright isn't doing a Spenser rip-off; he's just having fun telling a good story while ringing a few changes on Robert Parker. Taylor works out of Minnesota's Twin Cities, a long way from Spenser's Boston, and Housewright's plot is as open-faced as his genial homage. Asked by his father to help an 85-year-old neighbor recover the life savings stolen from her by an oily investment counselor, Taylor uses a cross-dressing computer genius to harass the swindler. Things quickly turn nasty and lots of shots are fired--some are deadly. Housewright's Edgar Award-winning first book about Taylor, Penance, is available in paperback.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A pleasure to read.
I only recently discovered Housewright, and what a great find it is. I love the character of Taylor and his ex-stripper, now attorney girlfriend, Cynthia, as well as his parents and friends. There is excellent sense of place and dialogue and the emotions are well done. Even though I figured out the killer, I didn't mind as I so enjoyed the journey along the way. If you've not yet tried Housewright, do. He is a pleasure to read.
Rating: - Fast Paced Action
This novel has some flaws and some characters are not well developed. However, it was hard to put down. It's an interesting whodunit with fast action over a period of a month or two, including an extended stay in the hospital. Holland Taylor is somewhat a loose cannon, tending to charge in where he should use caution. When you add his attitude, you can wonder how he stays alive and out of jail. In places, it is a manual on how to be a jerk.
An older friend of Holland's parents has ... Read More
Rating:  - great book
I love this series. The books are almost impossible to put down, the plots are intricate and not obvious, the characters are interesting. In this one, P.I. Holland Taylor tries to recover the entire life savings of a little old lady who was defrauded by her investment advisor. kept me guessing throughout
Rating: - Just for lots of fun
David Housewright is just a fun novelist. You won't be reading his novels in any university English classes, but rather taking them on vacation with you. I look forward to his next one.
Rating: - All the right formulas for a good detective story.
Practice to Deceive is an enjoyable novel...for lots of reasons. First, it has a plot with some twists in it which surprise the most perceptive reader. And Housewright draws some startling and yet believable characters whose greed borders on madness and who are obsessed with filling their empty lives with deception and fantasy. Consider the hateful teenaged daughter who holds her mother hostage, the mother who refused to belive her daughter is a spoiled and greedy brat, and the cross-dressing ... Read More
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