Spam & Eggs: A Johnny Denovo Mystery

Andrew Kent
Dog Ear Publishing (2009)
ISBN 9781598588644
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (2/09)

Cryptic e-mail messages set in motion Johnny Denovo’s newest case, “Spam & Eggs.” Already world famous and known for his technological wizardry Denovo is challenged by these “spam” messages with, riddles, secret codes, perplexing phrases, suggestive metaphors and rhyming couplets with a double-substitution scheme. Phrases like “Faberge eggs,” which allude to the theft of rare and priceless objects, and the heist of defense secrets. Johnny soon detects that something even more ominous and threatening is gathering force in a geopolitical plot which is ready to blow up.

As an expert neuroscientist, Johnny mastered a theory of the mind that now underlies his crime-solving processes. Johnny is determined to break the code and put a stop to the yet-to-be committed crime, determine the underlying motive, and expose the puzzling perpetrator.

In a dangerous attempt to solve the case, Johnny with Mona, his auburn haired agent, leave their home turf in Boston to explore a horse farm in Virginia to stopover in Paris before the final destination, the bustling city of Montpellier, France, on the Mediterranean. Their goal is to find a resolution to the mysterious crime of “Spam & Eggs” and to expose a team of power-mad weirdoes.

Andrew Kent has created a cast of colorful characters including: John A. Novarro, the genius behind the newly created Denovo persona, mystique, and his detective motif; Tucker the Techno-geek; Wei Chou, the Chinese Cook; FBI Agent Ross, with his standard issue countenance; Mona Landau, the sultry serpent queen, his agent; and defense contractor Jim Winthrop.

Kent develops background material to introduce his intriguing and sinister plot. He is as comfortable and credibly knowledgeable when describing background on a horse ranch in Virginia, as when detailing technical and communications infra-structure, or affirming the amenities of Montpellier, France. 

I enjoyed Andrew’s word artistry. He uses phrases like: “an atmosphere that cultivated thoughtfulness,” and lengthy sentences describing metaphors, such as: “Johnny turned over the metaphors of the case – spam, eggs, horses, inside, outside, chicken, center and the like.  Metaphors were how the limbic brain expressed itself, synthesizing complex, even unrecognized inputs and feelings into a representative package sufficiently distinctive and rich in form to be emblematic.”

Andrew Kent has a brilliant command of language and is a clever word-weaver. He incorporates sophisticated vocabulary, clever word play, tongue-in-cheek realism, and soliloquies with brisk dialog to create a masterpiece of deductive challenge, engrossing reading, and engaging entertainment in “Spam & Eggs: A Johnny Denovo Mystery.”

 

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