I Am Not a Psychic: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Richard Belzer is back with a follow up to his "I AM NOT A COP" mystery novel which plays on the "Hey it's me!... A real life actor in "LAW AND ORDER SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT!"... but "wink-wink" the crime thriller I'm involved in is fiction. The uniqueness of the first novel has worn off... so the author needs to come up with a compelling story and characters that are strong enough to be able to stand on its own merits. Unfortunately the new story is not gripping nor unique enough. "Belz" is contacted out of the blue by an old friend Paul Venchus who he hasn't heard from in a quarter-of-a-century. Paul is a lush who says he has info that can solve a famous Hollywood murder case from twenty-six years ago. As the reader is made aware of the fictitious characters involved in this long ago "conspiratorial" murder... there is not even a hint of intrigue. Belzer is on his way to Vegas to help out his "mentor and best friend" Johnny Leland run an annual charity telethon. (Sound familiar... in Vegas... for charity?) If the lack of creativity here isn't enough for you... add on the fact that Johnny Leland used to be one-half of the hottest Hollywood entertainment duo twenty-five years ago. Johnny was a comedian and his partner Sal Fabell was a hard drinking... handsome Italian singer. Johnny and Sal split up and haven't talked in... you guessed it... twenty-five-years. So while everyone Belzer talks to regarding the decrepitly old non-titillating murder case... becomes murder victims themselves... he also arranges a tear-jerking telethon reunion between Johnny and Sal. (How about a little more creativity regarding Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis-Vegas-telethon?)
Added to the mix is the title "character"... a totally boring... self-proclaimed... run of the mill (supposed) psychic... who was Paul's girlfriend and also related to one of the long ago murder cast of characters. With all the possibilities the author has at his disposal such as unlimited real-life names for cameos... and nothing but his imagination to limit his choice of a unique crime subject... this story comes up awful short.



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