"Sunshine Enemies" is the Mario Balzic novel (note it is not called a mystery any more) that I have been waiting for K. C. Constantine to write ever since the second book in the series ("The Man Who Like to Look at Himself"), where the chief's family life was thrust into the background. One of the strengths of the first Mario Balzic story, "The Rocksburg Railroad Murders," was that the chief's wife, kids and mother were part of his life and part of the world in which he lived. But with each subsequent novel Ruth and the rest of the Balzics were scarcely seen; sometimes Mario would ask his mom for some information about someone from the old neighborhood, but more often than not there would be a note from Ruth reminding Balzic she had not seen him awake and/or sober for a while. All that changes big time with "Sunshine Enemies."

The title is a drunken twist on one of Balzic's caustic comments on the way of the world. It takes us a while to learn that in this novel, just as it takes us a while to understand why this is not a mystery novel. "Sunshine Enemies" is a character study that digs deep into the psyche of someone we are still getting to understand after eight novels. The set up is a series of distractions: the Police Chief of Rocksburg has to deal with a minister complaining about a recently opened porno shop, but gets a bigger headache when a brutal knife murder takes place outside the shop. A reluctant witness tentatively comes forward, and it does not seem that we have much of a mystery here. But then Balzic's mother suffers a massive stroke and suddenly brutal crimes in the small western Pennsylvania town become insignificant.

The prognosis for Marie Petraglia Balzic is not good and suddenly Balzic is face to face with his deepest insecurities. His wife confronts him with the brutal truth about how they have both used his mother, Ruth's best friend, as the chief means of staying connected. Balzic looks at his daughters and realizes they have become grown women, who tend to curse just like their father, a fact that horrifies him. The novel becomes a series of crushing body blows for Balzic, one after another, in which he finds himself shaken to the depths of his soul as his world is turned upside down.

The hallmark of this novel, like Constantine's other novels, are the conversations that Balzic has with the other characters. But this time the key difference is that the vast majority of such dialogues are not about a crime under investigation. Instead, they are about such issues as what Balzic thinks about what happens to people after they die, what he thinks about Marie dying her hair, and what really happened when his mother defended him from the attacks of a nun when he was a child. There are some conversations about the crime at hand, allowing Mo Valcanas to hold forth on the relationship between pornography and sex crimes, but they become meaningless as Balzic contemplates the great impact his mother has had on not only his life but also that of everybody who knows her.

The fact that this is not a "true" mystery per se should not matter to readers of the series. The chief attraction here is Balzic's compelling personality not the sordid little crimes he is solving in each novel. Of course, I appreciate the irony in getting what I wanted in a way that almost makes me wish events in Balzic's life did not take such a tragic turn. But the character has needed to reclaim his soul for several novels now, and it has been clear from the beginning that his soul is with his family.

As you can easily guess from the title of this seventh Mario Balzic mystery, Christmas is threatening Rocksburg, Pennsylvania and it becomes obvious fairly quickly in "Upon Some Midnights Clear" that Balzic has good reason for dreading the holidays. Ed Sitko, the chief of the city's volunteer firefighters calls to tell Balzic about Mrs. Gabin, who was mugged of...in Christmas money and demands to know what the chief of police is going to do about it. But before Balzic can get around to investigating the case Sitko has his men out collecting money for the victim and the more Balzic looks into what happened, the less he likes it. However, Balzic's life is nothing if not extremely complicated and in trying to clean up this mess he has to deal not only with the bigoted fire chief but a newspaper columnist who has little regard for the truth unless it suits her needs, an alienated Vietnam vet and his friends who are tired of being blamed for losing the war, and a small time criminal who always manages to worm his way out of trouble. When Balzic finds himself in Musconi's listening to the old crime boss give him advice, he knows that Christmas is going to be anything but merry.

"Upon Some Midnights Clear" is the Mario Balzic mystery that K.C. Constantine needed to write at this point in the series because the character had been dangerously close to wallowing in self-pity. Certainly he has been ignoring his family way too much in the last few novels, whose plot lines have threatened to consume his soul. When you have a character who able to enforce his sense of justice on those around him not just because of his personality but because of his position of power it becomes important for the reader to feel such a person is connected to the real world and not off rambling around their own little kingdom. Being nice to the wife and kids is important because of the grounding it provides Balzic.

Constantine's approach remains the same. Balzic engages in a series of conversations in order to work his way to the truth of a given situation. This time around he is haunted by more than his usual share of doubts, which compels him to several key moments of self-reflection. Maybe just writing about Christmas was enough to get Constantine to lighten up a bit with regards to both Balzic and what happens in Rocksburg, because I certainly did not have the sense of wallowing in dirt and filth like I had after some of these novels, especially the previous effort, "Always a Body to Trade." Something approaching a happy ending, even if it means justice comes in the form of a man getting away with a crime for which he is guilty being punished for one in which he is innocent, is definitely a welcome relief. Balzic will almost certainly be back in the trenches, but at least this time around he gets the most important thing right.

Constantine's second (if I have my facts straight) Mario Balzic mystery, _The Man Who Liked To Look At Himself_ is as good as his debut.

Like _The Rocksburg Railway Murders_, this book centers about Balzic, the chief of police in a small Pennsylvania town. Parts of a body are found on farms which are leased as hunting lands by a local hunting club.

It's not long before Balzic has figured out the identity of the victim, but pinning the murder on the killer is another matter. Again, sharp attention to detail and a good appreciation for local color make Constantine's writing so special. He really gets the small town cop character right. Or, at least, I think he does. It sure has the ring of truth.

Characters such as the defense attorney Mo Valcanas reappear in this book. They're certainly welcome; Balzic isn't the only interesting character from the first novel. I'm hoping for a reappearance of the priest character from the railway murders novel. The priest was my favorite character, aside from Mario, in the debut. I don't recall the priest having any role in this book.

The title seems unrelated to the story, until late in the novel, when it's presented by Balzic himself in a clever turn of the plot.

All in all, this is a good small-town police-chief murder mystery.

After one novel things must have been too comfortable for Police Chief Mario Balzic in the Western Pennsylvania town of Rocksburg because K. C. Constantine jettisons Lt. Phil Moyer of the State Police in favor of Lt. Harry Minyon. Whereas Moyer was inclined to back up Balzic in his investigations, Minyon is another constant pain in the nether regions in the mode of D.A. Milt Weigh and local reporter Dick Deitz, both of whom are noticeably absent from this second volume. For that matter most of the supporting cast from 'The Rocksburg Railroad Murders' are missing this time around, such as Father Mazzo, Balzic's mom, and his young girls. The most important familiar face in the novel turns out to be Mo Vulcanas, the inebriated Greek lawyer. But then 'The Man Who Like to Look at Himself' is much more of a solo effort for the chief than the first time around. If Constantine is retooling these novels that is not going to be clear until I start reading the next one, which will be right after I finish writing this review.

Hopefully you pick this book up in paperback, because the cover of the original hardback edition makes a concerted effort to spoil the mystery by having a photograph of the key piece of evidence that allows all the pieces to fall into place for Balzic in the final stage of the story. The significance of the novel's title is not clear until that point and the only reason I am not screaming and hollering about this more than I am is that I went directly from reading the first book to the second without bothering to look at the cover; the title on the side of the spine was all I needed to know I had grabbed the right book off the shelf at the local library.

Balzic and Minyon are out hunting pheasant and the day goes from bad (Minyon's dog bites Balzic and the only thing he shoots is a starling with a broken wing) to worse when the dog uncovers a piece of human bone that shows clear markings of having been hacked apart. More bones pop up and the common denominator is that they are all found on farms when the Rocksburg Rod and Gun Club, although not enough to allow for an identification of the remains. And if Balzic does not have enough problems, Reverend Callum is complaining to the City Council about the racist policies of the local police. Minyon goes off on a series of wild tangents trying to break the case and see his name in the papers, while Balzic takes a more methodical (and more intelligent) approach. 'The Man Who Liked to Look at Himself' is good old-fashioned detective work, when asking questions from various people eventually gets Balzic in the right place at the right time to ask the right question to the right person. Given what happened at the end of the first novel, you cannot help but approach the conclusion of this one with concern over what horrible final twist of fate might intrude upon the denouement.

The mystery elements are much stronger in this second Balzic story, but the chief attraction remains the main character, who continues to care about people as well as solving the crime. Constantine has created a character who is a good cop and a decent man. I read a description of Balzic from the 'Washington Star' that described him as 'unpretentious, unsentimentalized, uncaricatured,' which certainly hits the nail on the head all three times. In this novel the obstacles to Balzic's investigation are mostly offstage and it is more a question of Minyon catching up to what really happened before the Lieutenant makes another stupid mistake. This is not a mystery where you have to dodge red herring right and left, but one in which the hero works his way slowly and methodically to the truth. These book are good reads for those of us living the commuter lifestyle, but be forewarned that Constantine does not believe in chapters and plan your life accordingly.

The writing here is good, very good, and the characters are
subtly and richly drawn. The setting and dialog are
convincing, and the emotions will stay with you. Which
is perhaps the problem!

There is no redemption here. The mood and events are
dark, the deaths pointless. There is no brain-teasing
mystery, no real lesson about human nature beyond that
it can be ugly and destructive. I don't normally wonder
about the point of books, but I have to admit that after
this one I did. What was the point of all that? Did I
need to be reminded that life can be painful? Maybe
I did. In retrospect I think it was worth the time
to read, but I can't say I _enjoyed_ it.

There are a very few technical flaws (the drug-dealer
side-plot seemed entirely unnecessary, and the sudden
solving of the "mystery" at the end was abrupt and not
entirely convincing), but my complaint about this book
is not with the execution, but rather with the nature of
the project. A single beam of light would, I think, have
made this a more worthwhile work.

Mario Balzic is in a foul mood pretty much from start to finish in "The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes," K. C. Constantine's fifth mystery novel revolving around the world of the police chief of the fictional West Pennsylvania town of Rocksburg. The original reason for why Balzic is snapping at everybody is because labor negotiations between the police union and the city are going nowhere. So the threat of a strike is looming larger and larger with Mario caught in the middle and not looking forward to be the only cop in town. When he walks into Muscotti's bar to get a drink one afternoon Vinnie the bartender offers him some fresh tomatoes even though it is only the middle of June. The tomatoes were grown by Jimmy Romaneli, an unemployed miner, who, in the small world that is Rocksburg, is married to the daughter of one of Balzic's father's best friends, Mike Fiori. When Frances Romaneli calls up worried that her husband Jimmy is missing, Balzic takes the matter personally. But what he starts to uncover makes his disposition even worse than it already is because of the city politics.

A Mario Balzic Mystery is essentially a series of conversations between the chief and everybody with whom he comes into contact, although there is actually some traditional "action" in "The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes" (which comes relatively early and the story and has little to do with the case at hand, although Balzic does enjoy showing why he does not need a gun to do his job). But this time around several of the conversations became increasingly frustrating and, with a bit of intentional irony on the part of the author, the more a conversation seems to be going nowhere in this novel the more vital information it ends up containing. No one Balzic is on edge by the end of this one. Once again, this is Balzic on his own, dare I say it, because this time it is personal. Not even his family is really allowed in as he tumbles on to what is happening regarding this trio of very unhappy people. All the while the memories of his father become more and more potent. It is one thing to confront the demons to haunt you, but another to discover that they have been doing it for quite some time. This is Constantine's darkest novel in the series so far, a tragic tale that envelops an entire family by the time it is played out and which constantly exposes the worst side of Chief Balzic. And to think, it all began with the growing of tomatoes.

K.C. Constantine is a mystery writer wrapped in a mystery. Writing for 20 years or more, no one knows who he really is and, at his best, he is the best mystery writer in America. The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes is his best work. The characters, ordinary people living ordinary lives, come alive across the pages. You understand their strengths and sympathize with their weaknesses. Plot is secondary to character in Constantine's Rockburg mysteries, but the plot here will not disappoint. His recent works have had some ups and downs, but he seems back on track now. This book is the best introduction you can get to a master of the trade

Oh my God, if people really talked like the main character, every listener would die of boredom. This plot was OK, but slogging through the tons of stupid dialogue was incredibly miserable. I'm surprised the author didn't try and put pictures of facial expressions in, too!

Balzic's gone but Constantine's back better than ever. If you were disappointed by K.C.'s last few, don't despair--this one is is great. Vivid characters, great story. But K.C. will hate me because I checked it out at the library

No one writes like Constantine! I thought I would miss Mario but his new focus is as good if not better. This series is still going strong!

In the afterword to his latest novel, "From a Buick 8," Stephen King explains that his fictional West Pennsylvania town is "near" the fictional town of Rocksburg that is the setting for K. C. Constantine's series of nonviolence mysteries about chief of police Mario Balzic. I am sure I am not the only one who will take this particular bit of advice and check out "The Rocksburg Railroad Murders," the first volume in the series, which is set in the early 1970s.

Mario Balzic is described as "a hokey, untypical detective who works from a bedrock of compassion and shrewd common sense." But do not let this bit of endpiece hyperbole dissuade you from checking out this mystery. Yes, there are some stereotypical elements in this novel--the chief hates the pompous district attorney Milt Weigh and the overly inquisitive reporter Dick Deitz (no, not the Giants catcher who was hit by Don Drysdale with the bases loaded but not given first base because he did not try to get out of the way, thereby preserving Drysdale's scoreless innings streak, which has since been broken by Orel Hersheiser)--but this is also a chief of police who does not like his cops running around with guns (thing "Destry"). Mario has teenager daughters who are trying to tolerate his eccentricities, an elderly mother who remembers basically everything anybody has ever done in this town, and is friends with Father Marazzo, who is willing to listen to anything the chief wants to get off his chest.

A man Mario has known since childhood is found bludgeoned to death with a Coke bottle on the platform of the Rocksburg railroad station. The damage is so bad Mario has to be told the name of the victim. From his initial investigation Mario becomes convinced that the man's stepson is the guilty party, but proving it is going to prove rather difficult for a lot of reasons. As the title indicates, this is only the first murder in the book and the tension builds as we wait for the second victim to drop. For Constantine characterization assumes more of an importance than the detective work in this novel, because Mario pays as much attention to the need for compassion as he does for the search for clues.

This is a nice start. We get a good sense of the lay of the land, not only of Rocksburg but more importantly of the way Mario Balzic thinks and the way he feels. For me, this was enough to motivate me to move directly to the next story in the series, "The Man Who Like to Look at Himself." Except for the Spenser for Hire series I have never really a lot of mysteries per se, and when I do it is character more than story that grabs my interest. So danke, Mr. King. Final warning: Constantine does not divide his novles into chapters, so if you settle down to read this book intending to finish the first chapter before you go to sleep, you are going to by up all night.

Mario Balzic is the chief of police in a small Pennsylvania town. He's an oddball in that he doesn't even carry a gun, usually. When a senseless murder occurs at the railroad station, and there are no witnesses, Mario must rely on his wits and knowledge of psychology to direct him to the likely killer.

Constantine writes very realistic fiction. This is not a glamorous or exciting detective novel, compared to most detective novels. The small-town setting makes it different from most police procedurals, also. All the dialogue seems very true-to-life, and the characters are drawn by someone who knows people.

The story drew me in further and further as I read. One gets the feeling that Constantine himself must live in a small Pennsylvania town like Rocksburg, just to be able to bring this kind of local flavor to the dish.

This is the place to start if you're interested in this series, since it's the first novel in the set.

ken

K. C. Constantine develops the character of acting police chief Rugs Carlucci, into a likable guy operating in a small time depressed western Pennsylvania town. The author uses dialogue in a most effective and entertaining way. The police chief is a Viet Nam vet, a good civil servant, a good son, and good cop liked by most around him. Investigating the murder of a former home town sports hero, he gets to open up the decaying environment of this "has been" town near Pittsburgh, PA. What the reader gets is a entertaining picture of this town and its socio-economically depressed characters and politically corrupt small time government.

The story did leave me wanting more. I wanted to see the nice guy police chief further develop the love affair with his coworker's cousin.

While searching for authors who are in the same elite class as Parker and Sandford, I decided to give Constantine a try. I selected "Grievance" based upon its seemingly interesting content and favorable reviews. "Rugs", the detective featured in the book, as well as the other characters, are boring and the dialogue is extremely distracting. I find Constantine's attempts at capturing "real" language both stilted and juvenile. Through their "working class" dialect (as it's been described), the characters are portrayed as incompetent, ignorant buffoons. Members of the correctional services, as well as social services, should be offended. I cannot discuss the plot, because after almost 150 pages, it didn't really materialize. This is one of the few books that I will not finish. It is, almost without a doubt, the worst book I've ever read.

constantine simply tries too hard at the dialogue
lacks the intellectual vigor to pull it off
annoying, distracting, and boring

i will finish the book only as a personal challange

Constantine captures the sadness of forgotten towns and their citizens like no one I have ever read. America has thousands of these places, old industrial towns like this one, almost closed down farming communities and so on. There are no real villains here--just victims, and their problems, so wrenchingly written about and described in their own words, will break your heart. This book is allegedly a mystery, but that only forms a rough scaffolding for his social commentary which is the real point of the book. A beautifully written, gritty book.

This is the third Mario Balzic mystery I've read, and I just don't see what the fuss is about. Reading the dialog in one of K.C. Constantine's books is like wading through thick mud...constant effort until it becomes tiresome in the extreme. Family Values has a 7-page-long fight between Mario and his wife, Ruth...replete with wannas, wouldas and 'causes...well, let me put it in K.C.'s/Mario's lingo: Geez, I shoulda thrown the book out!

It has been two years since Mario Balzic retired as police chief of the Rocksberg, Pennsylvania police department and has literally driven everyone to drink. His spouse cannot wait for him to leave the home. His friends hope that he will not come by to visit them. Even the local bartender does not really want his business because he is tired of Mario biting his ear off. However, all that changes when the District Attorney asks Mario to come out of retirement to investigate a special case. Seventeen years ago, a drug deal went bad and two pushers were killed. The man convicted of the crime, Lester Walin, insists that he is innocent and has proof to back his claim. It seems he has a photograph of him being in bed with his step-mother during the time the crime allegedly occurred. Walin clearly places his conviction at the hands of his father, a stroke victim former police officer. Other prisoners make the same loud claim. As Balzic investigates he realizes that there may be some truth to what Lester and others are claiming. One of the basic laws of the universe is that any Mario Balzic tale is worth reading. The latest one, FAMILY VALUES, continues in that time honored tradition of being a great novel. In his baker dozenth Balzic tale, K.C. Constantine demonstrates that he is constantly one of the best writers today, showing insights into his characters that make his novels appeal to psychodrama lovers and mystery fans. Harriet Klausner