Doppelgangster (Esther Diamond #2)

*slightly spoilery*
It’s a fun fast read, but I got SO SICK of the characters saying, “Doppleganster”. There are a dozen synonyms, use some. The main character is hard to relate to in this book. Esther has been a quirky, flighty woman in previous books but in this one she is suddenly a hysterical, irrational stereotype. She hits a cop, she’s told not to do that by a second cop, brushes off the warning and hits her ex again. Again she’s warned about hitting a cop. Again she brushes off the warning in an irrational ‘there are no consequences for MY actions’ manner and hits him a third time. This is in the middle of a police raid, all the while she’s screaming like a fish wife about her hurt feelings. Even Esther Diamond would recognize that this is a serious situation and that she can’t get away with smacking her ex-bf cop in the middle of a police raid. But the author wants Esther in jail, so suddenly the main character is bat-sh*t crazy with no concept of personal responsibility. Throughout this book, it’s just more of the same. Esther screaming, stomping her feet and acting irrationally and her sort of Ex grovels and begs. This nonsense ruined the story for me.

I had high hopes for this book after reading the first Esther Diamond novel. It certainly delivered in terms of a captivating mystery and suspenseful climax, but the richness of the supporting cast, and the witty sense of humor form the first book aren’t quite there in this one. It’s worth reading, especially for anyone who wants to read the whole series, but I’d recommend looking for it in a local library over buying it.

All Esther Diamond wants is a decent acting role that she can be proud of (and her typically Jewish mother can be proud of as well!) she’ll do anything to get her to stop nagging. Plus, it would be nice to get a regular paycheck. And finally go on a hot sexy date with her police detective boyfriend. But it looks as if that’s not in the cards for Esther. At least not while Mercury is in retrograde and her proverbial job as a singing waitress at Bella Stella’s (the mob version of Casablanca) is soon to hit the skids.

When Esther’s favorite wiseguy customer Chubby Charlie Chiccante is gunned down in front of her after seeing his mystical doppelganger, she’s drawn deeply into a web of magical intrigue and the mobster underworld. Who is creating the magical doppelganger assassins that threaten to start an all out mob war between New York’s notorious crime families? And can she stop it before she ends up sleeping with the fishes too?

Doppelgangster is an energetic gangster tale with elements of the paranormal that is both witty and hilarious. At first, I didn’t know what to expect when starting it. Was it a paranormal? Was it a mystery? Was it a thriller? Was it a romance? I was so pleasantly surprised to find that it was all of these things and more. Diving into Doppelgangster was like getting the best piece of the pie and slowly savoring each bite.

Resnick is in her element with Doppelgangster’s dialogue. She’s a powerhouse with it. The funny and engaging mobsterisms are rampant, clever, and her character interactions are simply gut busting. In fact the two most important aspects of Resnick’s tale are the originality of her idea and the brilliant character interactions. Esther, paired with Lucky, Max, and Nelli at the behest of the Gambello’s shy don makes this one of the funniest books I’ve read this year. I laughed non-stop throughout this book.

There is a small thread of romance between Esther and her slurpalicious detective Lopez. But so far, the mobster shenanigans ensuing have firmly placed the lovers on opposite camps: Lopez on the side of the law and Esther helping the “family”. While this tenuous thread between the two of them was smoking hot, I suspect that we’ll be seeing more of sexy Detective Lopez in Resnick’s next novel. Especially the barest hint that he might not be what he seems, and could be psychically gifted.

If you want to truly be entertained, (and laugh out loud frequently) and enjoy storytelling at its best, give Doppelgangster a whirl!

A Fiendishly Bookish Review

Sounds like the start of a bad joke, but in this case it is the culmination of a series of bizarre occurances that seems to be the theme of Esther’s crime solving life. While she is a pretty grounded person with a lot of sense (for an actress), the less than common occurrences in her life, leave her scrambling to solve a series of bizarre murders in this latest book in this series.

In Doppelgangster, Esther is involved with the mob and a semi-retired cuddly wise-guy named Lucky, as well as her mentor, Max, in all things strange (since supernatural is really a misnomer according to him) and of course her almost boyfriend, Conner Lopez, the straight-man or cop, of this comedic romp.

The story is fast pace, Laura Resnick does a great job of creating unusual characters that are believable and placing Esther is situations that leave you chuckling, even as you try to guess how she will solve the unique situation she is involved in. She leaves the reader wanting more, and really wanting to see Esther’s “almost” boyfriend become something more.

Definitely worth the read!

I was delighted to see Laura Resnick seems to have caught her footing writing this totally different genre of urban fantasy she has taken on. Doppelganger starts with a bang and keeps rolling along. With gangsters getting whacked and their doubles freaking everybody out, especially when one of Esther is spotted, the story keeps the reader interested and involved enough to want to find out who dunnit even though poor Esther’s fledgling romance with Lopez takes a hit. Oh, and Max finally solves his feather problem. All in all, it was another fun romp around New York. Resnick has a deft hand at keeping things moving along and I look forward to the next installment in this series.

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