First in a series featuring LA homicide detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs. When Eddie Elkins, the man inside the Rambunctions Rabbit costume at Familyland (a Disney wannabe) is found with his throat slit in the employees-only underbelly of the family-centered theme park, Lomax and Biggs are assigned to the case. When they discover that Eddie isn’t who he appears to be—that, indeed, he’s a convicted pedophile from back east—their obvious trail leads to who might have known this juicy tidbit of information and who had reason to whack him. However, the little cartoon flip-book that is left with the body screams “serial killer,” and sure enough, when another person with ties to the owners of Familyland, Lamaar Stuidos, is murdered with a similar flipbook left on the body, the boys know they’re going to be spending many sleepless nights trying to track down the killer. It seems to be someone with a grudge against Lamaar, but who? Their corporate people are less than cooperatve with our erstwhile detectives, as they’re busy trying to keep the whole thing shushed up so their stock doesn’t end take a nose dive into the basement. But Lomax and Biggs persevere, and there is a bit of a surprise twist at the end. I like Mike Lomax a lot—the book is told primarily from his POV, though that does change periodically. Karp handles the changing points of view well, though. Lomax is a recent widower, his wife Joanie having died of cancer about six months before. This book is almost like two stories, one detailing Lomax’s personal life and letting us get to know him and his family, and the other the murder case. I realize that a bit more detail is needed in introducing the main characters in the first book, but some judicious editing was definitely needed—the book was 632 pages in the hardcover edition! Granted, the author seems to write in the James Patterson style—very short chapters and lots of blank space—but still! Snip, snip, snip! LOL It took me a good 50 pages before I warmed to the mystery and the characters, but I am glad I stuck with it, because it ended up being a great debut novel. I have the next one here and it seems to be a bit shorter, so someone must’ve hit Karp with a cluestick. LOL And I have to honestly say that I’m really looking forward to it, too! A-.
Karp, Maarshall. THE RABBIT FACTORY. (2006). ****. This is the first novel from this author who was recommended to me by one of my friends. I don’t know if this is the book he had in mind, but it’s not a bad first novel. The only problem is that is seems that you’ve stepped into a TV miniseries that runs for ten weeks in a row. It is a long book. Fortunately, I usually write down the names of the major players of a novel on my bookmark so that I remember who they are 500 pages later. This helped. The author introduces his team of protagonists, Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs, Detectives on the LA police force. Their first case involves the murder of a bunny character – a man dressed up in a rabbit costume – on the grounds of Familyland, a theme park on the order of Disneyland originally founded by a cartoonist who made it big, Mr. Lamaar. One of the problems is that Familyland manages to keep all negative headlines out of the papers and away from the prying eyes of even their own employees, so that Lomax and Biggs must work under the most difficult of conditions. As more murders are committed, our two detectives uncover a sinister plot/vendetta against Lamaar – obviously a vendetta worth killing for. The race is on to bring this particular madman to justice before he manages to bring the corporation to its knees. The author manages to write in his protagonists with enough humor (cop humor) to keep your interest, and I suspect that this is the first novel in a series. I don’t know yet, but if succeeding books are as long as this one, I just might take a pass. Recommended.
What do You think about The Rabbit Factory (2006)?
What a great read! MK is a new author to me, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a straight forward mystery, with no magic or anything else not of this world. It was just Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs just trying to solve one of the biggest mystery of their professional lives. Someone just killed one of the most beloved characters in Familyland. A big white rabbit, named Rambunctious Rabbit. Though once Biggs and Lomax start digging, they discover that RR wasn't quite the good little rabbit he was suppossed to be. But once someone else dies at the park, Biggs and Lomax discover that they have a bigger issue on their hands than a dead rabbit with blood on his hands. I so loved Biggs and Lomax, especially Mike Lomax he was a guy that loved his wife and was struggling to get over her death. The story had heart and I had tears in my eyes more than once, as Mike struggled through the letters that his wife had left him. I also loved Mike's dad, Big Jim...what a huge character. He almost took the story over more than once. If mystery isn't your thing, give this book a chance. There wasn't a lot of gore, it was really all about the mystery and how Biggs and Lomax put it together. If you like Carl Hiaasen then you might like MK, except without the really wacky characters that CH employees...sorry no Skink here, but still worth the read.
—Keri
Marshall Karp is definitely my favorite author after this book. No one does it with a better sense of humor, period. It's like James Patterson, just with better comic kicks. That is obviously expected of Marshall Karp considering he's already written 4 books with James Patterson: Kill Me If You Can, NYPD Red, NYPD Red 2, NYPD Red 3. All of which were beautifully written. This one, The Rabbit Factory was the first book of the Lomax and Biggs series, both of whom you're likely to fall in love with through the book. The story-line is deep and the kills are gruesome. I highly recommend this one.
—Ray
Just about finished. Very good, albeit waaaay too long. Definitely could have used an editor -- there's no reason this needed to be 600 pages long. (If said editor were me, the entire subplot about the brother would have been the first one to go. Also, he sets up back stories and emotions for every random character and bit player. Interesting, well-written, but doesn't add much to the overall plot.)A murder-mystery set in a Disney-like park. Starts off with a dead furry, and gets weirder from there. Very funny, and gets pretty violent towards the end. The author is a former tv and movie writer and it shows; he's got a great sense of LA and show business, and the book definitely feels like it could easily be a movie one day.
—Margaret
