What do readers think of Greasing the Piñata by Tim Maleeny? Write your own review.

Cape Weathers, ex reporter turned P.I.,takes on a case involving politicians,mafiosi,and the drug cartel,for his client,which takes him from his home base of San Francisco to Mexico. Enlisting the aid of his friend Sally, he encounters adventures and plot twists to keep you guessing till the end! A very enjoyable read. A straight ahead P.I. mystery, Poison Pen Press really impresses with their quality reads. I might even join the mystery of the month club. With a line like,"the moon was a full as a drunkards bladder" how can you miss! read it!

This is the third and in my opinion, the best Cape Weathers' Investigation novel. The characters are all very unique, including the reappearance of Sally, the beautiful trained assassin sidekick. The novel includes politics, drugs, the environment, and murder--everything to make a great crime novel. I hope to see more from Tim Maleeny and Cape Weathers.

Anything can happen in Mexico. And pretty much everything happens to P.I. Cape Weathers in a mystery that starts with a couple of dead bodies in a golf course water hazard and doesn’t end until the Mexican Mafia, a Chinese Triad alum and a few U.S. politicians have made an appearance—and gotten a little sweaty, testy or dead.
All the while, Weathers keeps batting at the piñata that is his case: Who killed his client’s father and brother and why?
This Mexican party has Weathers getting fairly beaten around himself in a mystery that, chapter by chapter, will keep you reading at break-finger pace!
Enjoy this one on your own—while not a beach read by any stretch, this is a novel much more suited to personal enjoyment than a deep discussion by your local book club. Tim Maleeny’s Cape Weathers is a guy you want to savor on your own; and at your own pace. Like your first boyfriend, he probably won’t stand up to a lot of in-depth scrutiny, but he is a hell of a lot of fun!

The author's writing style, short chapters with attention grabbing first sentences and intriguing final lines,makes the story move right along. Private investigator Cape Weathers and his associates, trained by the Hong Kong Triad Sally and commitedly green Linda, comprise an oddly likable core trio.

This case is set primarily in San Francisco and Mexico. The plot revolves around current issues but is peppered with just the right amount of testosterone and old gumshoe style metaphors. Greasing the Pinata should appeal to readers who enjoy action mysteries. It might be interesting to see this author weave Cape and Sally into a more psychologically suspenseful who-dunnit in a future tale.

"No one believes they're going to die until it happens, and then it's too late." That's the great opening line of this fast-paced mystery. I read a lot of mysteries, mostly cozies and British police procedurals, so this was outside my normal range. There was some graphic violence, but I enjoyed the book very much in spite of it.

Cape Weathers is in Mexico looking for a missing person who unfortunately turns up dead. Thus begins a smoothly written, complicated mystery with some action. While this was my first experience with Tim Maleeny's work I found myself quickly comfortable with his writing style and breezed through the book in a couple of days. It would have been sooner, but work got in the way. I thought his most intriguing character was Sally, an oriental assassin, who tweaked my interest and made me wish that more of her story had been told. Aside from some questionable language and violence this would make a highly suitable piece for a quick read or a vacation book.

I found this book to be a bit lacking. The story line is fun, but really needs to be tightened up. I feel that the author was trying to pack too many ideas into one story. There are a lot of characters and it became confusing trying to keep them all straight, I don't think they were developed enough as characters to care about them, with the exception of the main two. There were some really great "one-liners" in the book and that kept it fun. But... the short chapters, instead of keeping the book moving, I felt slowed it down for me. It skipped around too much, I would have to look backwards to try to figure out who we were talking about now, especially if I was picking it up a day or so after the last time I read from it.

I think there is real potential for a good fun read, but I don't think it was achieved.

Maleeny gives us a "slice of life" in Mob circles in this fictional account of revenge, torture, and murder. Balancing the violence and plethora of four-letter words, detective Cape Weathers brings wit and intelligence in brief reprieves. This story is a quick read, a fast-paced thriller with well drawn characters and vivid descriptions.
Cape and Sally, his Chinese ally, make an intriguing couple.

I would not recommend this book to either of my book clubs, however, because graphic torture scenes and bad language are not generally appreciated.