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The Green Monster: A Johnny Denova Mystery

Andrew Kent
Dog Ear Publishing (2009)
ISBN 9781608441150
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (10/09)

In “The Green Monster,” Johnny Denovo takes on his second mystery.  In this installment he is hired by a man in the bio-tech industry who wants Johnny to find out who is blackmailing him.  The case ends up being much more complicated than it first appears and Johnny is drawn into a plethora or conspiracies, threats, and plots.

“The Green Monster” has a baseball theme running through its entirety.  Each of the thirty-three chapters is cleverly named with related titles such as “Curveball,” “Double Play,” and “Caught Stealing.”  Just to give you an idea of Kent’s style of writing here is an excerpt from the opening pages at the baseball game where Denovo meets his new client:  “Suddenly, there was a loud retort, and the crowd gasped in surprise and anticipation, craning forward as one to see the effects from the violent interaction.  Heads turned skyward and cheers began to percolate as thousands of hopeful brains rapidly and instinctively calculated distances and trajectories.  Neuronal networks millions of years old pursued their natural ends – stereo vision resolving misaligned information, neurotransmitters bridging connections, and a common realization slowly emerging in the mix of consciousness and instinct each fan possessed.  They stood higher as one, hands tensed in anticipation as the ball knifed into the crowd down the right field line with a dramatic arc.” (p.7)  I bet you have never heard a baseball commentary described so eloquently before!  Kent has a very intellectual slant to his mystery writing which I find to be quite enjoyable.  However, it is a novel where your full concentration is required so that you are able to keep up with all of its intricacies.

I had the pleasure of reading Andrew Kent’s first Johnny Denovo mystery which is entitled “Spam and Eggs.”  When I finished that book I was looking forward to reading more as I enjoyed Kent’s unique and intellectually stimulating writing style.  Therefore, I was very excited to see this newest Denovo mystery, “The Green Monster” and after reading it I can say that it certainly held up to, if not passed, the high standard mark that was set by his first book. 


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