Don't Blame the Snake
by Tony Fennelly
ISBN#1-929976-05-4
Top Publications Hardback $21.95
It‘s the sweltering summer of ‘95
and poor souls all over the country are dying from the record-breaking hot spell. Most of
the public remains indoors, close to their TV sets, fascinated by the news event of the
decade, the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
Down South in stifling New Orleans, a literary celebrity lies dead of a mysterious
rattlesnake bite in his penthouse hotel suite, while Margo Fortier, the Bourbon Street
stripper-turned-society columnist deals with the heat by stretching out under a ceiling
fan covered by a wet towel. Margo’s husband Julian invites her to escape the heat and
join him at a mystery writers’ conference aboard the (blessedly air-conditioned)
cruise ship Julep Queen. While sailing down the Mississippi, the Fortiers become
acquainted with the arcane world of crime fiction publishing and the characters who
populate it. Margo fends off the advances of the lecherous and conniving publisher, Harvey
Gould, who soon afterward is found murdered in his cabin. And the fatal weapon appears to
be another poisonous snake. Some suspects on hand are a reclusive literary star of the
fifties who remains in his stateroom, naked, 24 hours a day, a former jewel thief who had
bought his noble title, a plump cozy writer in search of romance, a degenerate author of
gruesome best-sellers and his leather-clad dominatrix, and woebegone midlist authors who
have plenty of reason to hate Harvey Gould. Other passengers include a priest traveling
incognito with a handsome companion, a portly Elvis impersonator who sings the King’s
repertoire in Yiddish and a "pre-published" English professor who stalks the
corridors waylaying all and sundry to read his tattered thousand-page manuscript.
Reviews
DON'T BLAME THE SNAKE
by Tony Fennelly, Top Publications, July
2001
What a pleasure and relief to see Margo Fortier back
on the printed page. She's still got that smart mouth and sharp brain, and a gift for
getting into "situations," sexual, social and murderous. This book finds
her on a writers' conference cruise, with gay husband Julian and the all-too-familiar
types who attend - midlist authors and best-sellers, lecherous publishers, and the
wannabees with unpublished manuscripts under their arms. I was charmed, as usual, by
Margo and her telling cultural comments, although it's hard to see her thinking that she's
aging a bit. (Naaaw, not Margo.) Perfect victims, too - just the people I would have
threatened with a
snake. Joyce Christmas (Author of the Lady Margaret Priam and the Betty Trenka series)
If you want to know what mystery writers talk about
among themselves, don't miss Tony Fennelly's wickedly funny new novel, DON'T BLAME THE
SNAKE. The book is full of great characters, laugh-out-loud lines, and many
(unfortunately true) observations on the mystery writer's lot in life. And any book
that mentions both the Belmonts and Freddie and the Dreamers gets extra points from me.
Bill Crider
I'd go on a cruise with Margo Fortier and her
oh-so-charming husband Julian any time. If you pick up DON'T BLAME THE SNAKE, don't
blame me if you're up all night finishing it. Toni L.P. Kelner Author of Death of a
Damn Yankee
"From the wickedly punning title to the last sassy page, Tony Fennelly takes us on
a "magical" mystery tour of New Orleans: timber rattler to cruise ship,
writer's conference to multiple murders. And the wife/kind-of-husband
sleuthing team of Margo and Julian will remind you less of Nick and Nora
Charles and more of WILL & GRACE on speed. DON'T BLAME THE SNAKE is a
uniquely rendered romp." Jeremiah Healy, author of SPIRAL and THE ONLY GOOD
LAWYER:
"Fennelly, known almost as much for her wry humor as her flaming red hair, skewers
all the usual suspects at a writer's conference from the college professor with a thousand
page manuscript to the Queen of Cozies. Take this one to the dentist and skip the
laughing gas!" Crime By Collins" which appeared in the Jekyll's Golden
Islander, the Glynco Observer and MysteryInternational.com.
Book Review from MyShelf.Com
Brenda Weeaks, Owner Address: 607 West Apache Street, Marlow, OK 73055
DON'T BLAME THE SNAKE by Tony Fennelly
During the summer of 1995, a corpse is found in a New Orleans
hotel room along with the murder weapon, an eight-foot rattlesnake. The victim turns out
to be Ridley P. Schuyler, an ex-burglar who, upon release from prison, became a best
selling author. He was scheduled to be part of a mystery conference aboard a cruise ship.
Margo Fortier, a former stripper turned society columnist, and
her husband Julian, a publisher for a small press, are also attending the mystery
conference. While on board, Margo gets involved in another murder.
I found the book enjoyable on two levels. Of course, the first
level is the murder mystery itself. The suspects were an interesting group as would be at
any mystery conference including my favorite, a professor trying to find someone to read
his version of the great American novel. It took some work on my part to figure out who
the murderer is. The murderer made sense based on the clues that were revealed.
The second level is that there were many observations on various
topics. Of course, there are comments made about mystery conferences and the mid list
mystery writer's position in the publishing world. But there are also observations made on
many social issues. Since the novel takes place in the summer of 1995, the O.J. Simpson
trial is used as a recurring theme throughout the novel. Since I never understood the
public's fascination with this, by reading this novel, I may have gotten some clues why.
At times, I laughed as I read this book. Other times, I got
upset with some things that occurred. But any book that can get you emotionally involved
with it is a winner in my view.
Book Review from the Times Picayune
DON'T BLAME THE SNAKE
"It's been too long since Margo
Fortier has turned the town upside down in Tony Fennelly's smart-mouthed series set in New
Orleans . . . It's sort of a locked-ship mystery with Margo as the snake-loving,
pot-stirring, spotlight-grabbing Poirot. But the best parts are Fennelly's own
tongue-in-cheek view of the industry . . . DON'T BLAME THE SNAKE is a
cotton-candy summer book--airy, sticky and fun while it lasts." Diana
Pinckley, Times Picayune |
