Death on the Shelf discussion

Today's the day: For Whom the Minivan Rolls by Jeffrey Cohen. As always, be aware our discussion will include mentions of the ending, so if you haven't finished, you may be spoiled. I've prepared some discussion questions, but feel free to bring up your own thoughts and skip around if not all the questions speak to you. I'll post some of my own thoughts in their own comment in this topic.

1. This book was published in 2002, eighteen years ago. At the time, it was written as a contemporary mystery, but in many ways it now reads as a period piece. How did the setting in time affect the story,and your perception of it?

2. Jeffrey Cohen thanks his wife and children in the acknowledgments for allowing him to borrow their personalities for the main character, Aaron Tucker, to interact with. What did you think of Aaron's family? Was this a strength of weakness of the book?

3. This was the first in the Aaron Tucker mysteries, with two sequels published in 2003 and 2005. Would you want to move forward in the series?

4. The book is split into two main sections: in the first,wisecracking freelance writer Aaron Tucker is hired to look for disappeared housewife Madlyn Beckwirth. In the second, he seeks to solve her murder, despite no longer being paid to do so. Was one of these sections more compelling to you? Which one, and why do you think that is?

5. There are several marriages depicted in this book. What do you think is the secret of a good marriage, as Aaron and Abby seem to have, versus some of the less savory marriages in the book?

6. Did the resolution feel believable to you? Who do you think is at fault for the way Madlyn's life and death unfolded?

7. Which characters did you like? Which ones did you dislike? And why?

8. Although the plot still contains a murder, the tone of this novel is more lighthearted than many of the ones we have read together. Did the jokiness work for you? Do you like a light read every once in a while, or do you prefer your crime fiction to take itself more seriously?

I have to confess I did not particularly enjoy this book. I liked that it was short, and I liked that it wasn't too dark, but I found the characters difficult to connect with, and the split focus between the mystery plot and the more domestic interactions undermined my ability to invest. I thought the family stuff was some of the best in the book-- when I read that Cohen had transplanted his own family into the book, I wasn't surprised, as his wife and children are lovingly rendered and made real in a way I never felt about the police and politicians or even other children. In a way, this was interesting (contrast with our other detectives, dodging calls from their fiancees and mothers because they are simply too busy solving a case) but I did think it funnelled a lot of focus away from the main story. Cohen's desire that we empathize with his autistic son was clear.

That same empathy was not afforded to Joel Beckwirth, whom Tucker repeatedly refers in his inner monologue as a Fascist-- I suspect this hits different in our current political moment than it did when it was written, when I believe that was a relatively common jokey reference. In fact, the 2002 of it all was a barrier for me I didn't realize would be an issue. It was interesting to see how phones etc. were discussed differently, in ways I barely remember, but I didn't get a lot of the references. Since I am closer in age tot the children, I recognized the shows they were watching better than their parents' cultural milestones. In some ways it's easier to read a book from the 1930s, because it's different enough that the setting is well-grounded and in the forefront of my mind.

I did think the book picked up once Madlyn was murdered. A lot of the first half felt to me like treading water, with Aaron learning basically nothing, but there was some real investigation in the back half. I would have liked to see more of the emotional dynamic between the surviving members of the Beckwirth/Barlow situation, rather than just be told by Maddie's friend about the web she was caught in. I didn't feel like I had a good enough handle on who Rachel and Martin were to suspect they might want Madlyn dead, and use her stepson to do it.

I am not likely to read further in the series. I thought it was written fine, but it wasn't interested in the characters as people, which is what I usually care most about in a book. The only person I really liked here was Abby, who wasn't particularly involved in the A plot.

Ben's comments:
I’m partial to books about writers, especially newspaper writers. I’m also partial to books that don’t take themselves too seriously. So, in general, I enjoyed this book.
Authors like Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers or Ngaio Marsh or Kate Atkinson write serious mysteries, but their detectives are quirky and their situations often have some elements of absurdity. I’m not putting Cohen at the level of these authors, but I think he’s a good writer, and I found myself smiling at several twists and turns throughout the book, often having nothing to do with the mystery itself. I enjoyed Aaron’s interactions with his wife, with his kids, with his editor and with the police chief. I especially enjoyed the more authentic interactions with the newspaper situation. Some – like a rich man paying a publisher to hire him to look into a story – were beyond my particular belief, but I suppose that could happen. Unlikely. But generally, I felt those interactions were possible and authentic.
Once Aaron got around to solving the mystery, however, I found myself losing interest. He really was out of his depth. The fact that he pursued “the story” even though he wasn’t getting paid for it seemed like a bona fide reaction to me, something any reporter might do. He had been used, after all. But his methods were inept and downright risky. And the key to solving the mystery came from one source, basically, not a methodical piecing together of the clues. It was a disappointing ending to a fairly atypical, complex and entertaining start.
In response to the questions, I enjoyed the references from the era. I was alive and paying attention two decades ago, and it was fun to think back to that time.
I thought Aaron’s family added rather than subtracted from the unfolding story – and created a little suspense during the muddled ending.
I would hesitate to read another of the books in the series because of what I considered the weak ending of the first one.
The first part of the book was better than the last part. It was funnier and made better sense, whereas the mystery itself didn’t make much sense at all.
I thought their marriage was a good one because they liked each other and seemed to work together well in the raising of their kids. His wife obviously put up with a lot from Aaron. He obviously respected Abby’s knowledge and career because, when he found the body, he phoned her first. Every spouse should consider doing that when a pivotal moment in their lives arises.
The resolution did not seem believable to me. The jokiness did. I liked Aaron, his family, his friend and the police chief.

Linda Wolfe's comments:

Apparently Jeffrey Cohen is conflicted as to whether he wants to be a mystery writer or a comedy playwright. He is clever but I found his relentless quest for laughs to be tiring. I did, however, think that his skirmishes with the English professor regarding proper grammar to be amusing. The plot could have been a lot more realistic and the romantic ardor between Aaron and Abby was overkill from my perspective. The only characters I cared for were Aaron’s friend who helped with the carpentry tasks and the police chief.

Maybe I soured on this book because Hoopla kept erasing it from my smartphone and it had to be downloaded three times.
All in all I would rate this book with a one out of a possible five stars. If the plot had been more well-developed and if we’d had fewer gags, I would have been more enthusiastic.

In response to the questions, I did notice it was older because of his reference to TV programs, stuff like that. In fact, the reference to V.I. Warshawski prompted me to phone the library to help locate some of her books.

I’d say the references to family was a strength. It wasn’t a traditional family. And the kids were kind of interesting. It was realistic to mention the son, who had a disability.
I’m not interested in following the series. I thought the two sections of the book were about the same. I thought the strength in the marriage was the humor and that Aaron doesn’t seem to be threatened by her.

I didn’t think any of it was too realistic. Didn’t think the resolution, that the two of them drove the kid out there to murder her, was very realistic.

I like a light mystery every once in a while, but I’ve read light ones I like better.

Ben wrote: "Ben's comments:"

I think you make a good point about all the answers coming from one source. It makes it more difficult to participate in the process. When Aaron looked through the vital records and found the marriage and annulment records for Madlyn and Gary, that was kind of an exciting curveball. But after that we don't learn anything else until Marie explains it all to us in the end. I agree with you, ultimately, about the unevenness of the resolution.

It seemed to me that what Aaron and Abby had, in addition to affection for each other, was a respect and partnership that was missing from either of Madlyn's marriages, in which it seems like she was not valued as a person.

I wonder if Aaron and Abby might make a good detective team. Journalism and justice.