Body Blows: A Joe Grundy Mystery: 2

This is a catchy story with a great setting.

This is the second novel by Strange featuring ex-boxer Joe Grundy and his boss, Leo Alexander. The first one was a fine debut, nominated for an Arthur Ellis Award. This one is even better, with a great Vancouver setting and a really solid story that takes us back into Leo's personal life...Strange, an actor as well as a television writer, knows how to keep the dialogue moving, and while his characters are light, they're not slight. The action keeps moving and Vancouver is the perfect backdrop. Body Blows is a great light novel for a weekend away.

The plot of Body Blows zips along as smoothly and cleverly as Marc Strange's first Joe Grundy novel, Sucker Punch...but the real charm of what's turning into a series is Joe Grundy himself, a quasi-tough guy who's smart, loyal, shrewd but easy-going, and blessedly witty-a pleasure to hang out with for a few hours inside a book.

Strange tells the story in a clear, energetic style with astute timing for action, reflection and heart. Body Blows is a knockout.

This tough, non-nonsense novel has a lot going for it. Marc Strange...has produced an excellent plot, terrific characters and steely dialogue. They all meld nicely.

...a subtle blend of hardboiled style and noir sensibility in a satisfying who-done-it. Author Strange skillfully tangles webs of failure and deceit behind the sunny superficiality of familiar Canadian character types, giving them credible personalities. I'm planning a trip to my favourite bookseller for a copy of Sucker Punch, first of the Joe Grundy series.

Fast-paced and hard-hitting, Body Blows is classic hard-boiled, with colourful characters, snappy dialogue and a cynical point of view. If you like Hemingway, youll like Marc Strange.

When the live-in servant and not-so-secret lover of ex-boxer Joe Grundys millionaire boss Leo Alexander turns up murdered, its up to Joe to get to the bottom of the incident in order to clear Leos name. But Leos past serves up more surprises than Grundy bargains for.