I enjoy David Handler’s Stewart Hoag mystery series. The characters are fun, the plots reasonable, and the dialogue and accompanying humor entertaining. The Man Who Swore He’d Never Go Home Again is a prelude to the other books in this series in that it provides the backstory about Hoagy’s rise to fame as an author, how he met Marilee, a famous actress, and the introduction of Lulu, their Basset Hound puppy.

Overall, the dialogue and the characters are entertaining and likable and it’s a good intro for the series. There are moments that are a bit crude and probably aren’t necessary, but that can be overlooked. But, while Hoagy and Marilee’s story is being told, the mystery tends to take a backseat and sometimes threatens to disappear.

This book also has quite a bit of unnecessary detail and information. In my opinion, the latter half of the story falters and practically grinds to a halt when the author adds page after page of descriptions about Hoagy while he’s in recovery. Good grief. It was way too much. Ditto the final reveal when all the evidence and suppositions are once again re-stated in great detail. I enjoy this series, but this book just wasn’t what I expected. It’s 2.5 stars but I’ll bump it up to 3 stars. NetGalley provided an advance reader copy.

I could have done without the love story in the beginning. It seemed to take forever to get to the murder and at times it was sickening sweet.

Hoagy (a bestselling author) meets an actress (Marilee) and it’s an instant attraction. They ended up going home together and everything is lovely dovey. They ended up after three days of know each other moving into together. He buys her a car and a dog which they named Lulu after one of the Honeymooner characters. Life is good and then Hoagy receives a call from his first love, Maggie McKenna which mother was one of Hoagy’s favorite people. Maggie is calling to let Hoagy know that her mother has been murdered and to let him know when the funeral is. Hoagy swore he would never go back to his hometown but feels obligated to go and attend the funeral. From this point, the book actually gets interesting.

Regardless, I think David Handler's books are worth a read and this one is a good addition to the others.

this book really reminded me of a hallmark movie. It was way too cheesy with far too many cliches, which made it unenjoyable and just overdone in my opinion. I think it could have been written better, but it just was not. I did not like it

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This was a strong entry in the Stewart Hoag Mystery series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall concept of this book. The characters had that feel that worked in the mystery genre, and was that plot that I was looking for. David Handler has a strong writing style and thought the overall feel worked.

David Handler is author of the Stewart Hoag (Hoagy) mysteries featuring Lulu, the basset hound. Although this is the 16th in the series, it can be read as a standalone as it goes back in time to the 1980s and is the origin story of Lulu.

Hoagy has written a best seller and is enjoying his success when he meets well known actress, Merilee. Together, they acquire Lulu, a basset hound puppy and a vintage Jaguar. Hoagy’s father had owned a mill in Connecticut that was responsible for pollution and long term health concerns for the population. When he left for college, Hoagy swore he would never return home. That changes when his high school girlfriend calls to tell him her mother, beloved librarian of his hometown, has died. In fact, she was murdered. Hoagy, Merilee, and Lulu head off to the funeral where they witness the devastation left by the mill and its closing. As Hoagy reunites with old acquaintances, his life is suddenly in danger.

I thought the dialog in the beginning a bit cheesy and perhaps this book wasn’t for me. But the storyline and characters drew me in and I found it to be a quick, entertaining read. Lulu, and her penchant for smelly fish based cat food and anchovies is a delight.