"Terry's starting over and finds murder"

Terry Saltz has just gotten out of jail. He'd gotten wasted and trashed a bar. While in jail, his wife divorced him and took his truck and mobile home. Losing his truck hurt the most! So he's having to start over. His friend Danny lets him come live with him in an attic apartment. He gets a job as a pizza night delivery driver at Carlo's pizza place. He hooks up with Gruf, Bump and others there.

Terry also starts building a deck for Bump. He was a carpenter before jail. His new carpentry side business really takes off and soon Gruf is helping him.

When The Witness (Ed Hanus), another driver, gets killed out back, Terry and the guys decide they'd better help the police look into it. Especially when Seargant Alan Bushnell brings Terry in for questioning.

The guys decide they need to get to know The Witness' background, friends and family better. No one at Carlo's really hung out with him. And they need to do all this without Alan finding out and without putting themselves in danger -- there is a killer out there!

When I first started reading this, I wasn't sure if I'd like it. By the end, I loved it! Terry is such a great character and so different than any other protagonist. I think the author has done a great job of interspersing enough cuss words, etc., to make these guys believable, but yet not so many it can't be classified a cozy.

Carlo's is the kind of place everyone would like to work. They have a lot of fun, but they get their work done. The camaraderie these guys develop is terrific. Breakfast at Brewster's is another great touch! Their curiosity to help solve the crime is natural.

I highly recommend this book (the first in the series) be read before the others. It's so terrific that you won't be able to put it down!

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Posted August 25, 2004

Summary

I want to tell you a story. It's about friends, hard work, good love, bad love, and murder. My name's Terry Saltz.

It started like this. I got drunk in a bar one night, trashed the place, and went to jail. As a result I lost my job, my wife, my truck, and my mobile home. Losing that truck was the part that hurt the most.

When I got out, I figured I had to start again at the beginning. I walked into Carlo's Pizza and got hired as a night delivery driver. Relieved to be back on someone's payroll, I was making new friends and having more fun than expected...until one of the other drivers turned up dead. The cops got nowhere fast, so me and my new friends decided it was time to go looking for the murderer.