Shoofly Pie

by Tim Downs

Book Overview

Forensic entomologist Nick Polchak (a.k.a. the Bug Man) is hired by thirty-year-old Kathryn Guilford, who is terrified of bugs, to solve her friend's death. When Polchak stumbles into the mystery of how Kathryn's husband was killed years earlier, the action kicks into high gear -- and Polchak finds himself on the run with his client from someone who will do anything to keep a secret.

This fast-paced murder mystery is more than the typical...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582293082
• ISBN13: 9781582293080
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Howard Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Couldn't Put it down

This was such a great book. It has such a great story and was written really well. Definite must read

Shoofly Pie Is One Murder Of A Book You Got To Read

Shoofly Pie is one heck of a ride. It's like a twisted CSI TV show with one liners that make you think Jerry Bruckheimer should pick up the movie. I could see David Duchovny playing the main character.Basic plot is about this guy named Nick Polchak who they call "The Bug Man" because the guy basically knows more about bugs than anyone. It is almost as if he knows what they are thinking and can hear them talking. Packed with action and some thought-provoking clues and evidence which is mind boggling at times, Shoofly Pie is the latest book to hit my top ten list. The last one was Tim Brown's DaVinci Code if that tells you anything. If for no other reason, get the book cause it's got one of the coolest book covers out there.

This was fun!

I do have to say that this is one of the most original books I've read in a long time! This was hilarious in spots where you shouldn't even be MAKING jokes, but they still came off as funny and at times I'd sit there and say aloud, "GEEZ!" and almost start rolling on the floor! I have to say one thing... Tim Downs should have started writing fiction a long time ago, because this book was long overdue! This book was fun, funny, sarcastic, suspensful and just plain enjoyable. Dr. Nick Polchak, (almost sounds like pole cat!) is the bug man! Or, to be literally correct like Nick would be, he is a forensic entomologist, an investigator who studies dead bodies after the bugs start to get to inhabit the body. Here he investigates an apparent suicide. Kathryn Guilford, friend of the victim is not convinced that it is a suicide and feels that there are details being overlooked. The authorities declare it a suicide, but as Nick gets involved, things come to light slowly but surely. This book has a really good twist, with an even better plot. It also has a message in it, without being preachy. But I'll say this. If you want something different, get this. It isn't just an interesting looking cover, it is a very entertaining read that keeps the pages turning!

Can't Wait for the Movie

I would not normally read a book about "bugs" ... but being familiar with Tim Down's communication gifts, I just had to read it. I picked it up to read while I was on vacation this past week-end and once I began, I couldn't put it down ... I even stood at the kitchen counter and read while I was waiting for my bread to toast at breakfast ... lunch ... and dinner. It had that kind of "holding power." The writing is clever, intelligent, humorous, and suspenseful and the words are so visual that the whole time I was reading I was picturing the book as I would a movie. This would be a great novel to adapt for the Silver Screen. Definitely in the same league with Grisham.As a result of reading "Shoofly Pie," I am not as freaked out by bees ... not as fond of macaroni and cheese ... and already looking forward to the next "bug man" mystery(smile)!!!

A New Species in the Christian Market!

With a quirky title and an edgy cover, this book snagged my eye. Twenty pages into it, you know that this mystery is far different than anything else in the Christian fiction market...maggots in a cadaver's eyesockets, bugs crawling everywhere, and lead characters that make you squirm and laugh in the same paragraph. Yeah, this book is its own new species.I loved every minute. I looked forward to each new chapter. The mystery itself is handled well, particularly in its inclusion of entomology (study of bugs...oooh). The main surprises don't come from the mystery, so much as from the characters themselves. These people think and do things that don't always make sense--kind of like real people! You can't help but love (or despise) the people herein. The Bug Man, in particular, is one of the more colorful leads I've come across in a while.Read this book if you love a twisting, and twisted, tale. Read it if you like imperfect yet likeable characters, with hints of romance on the side. Don't come expecting a spiritual hammer to hit you over the head--there's no preaching here. But if you believe that God works in subtle ways to change people from within, you'll get the point.Oh. And watch out for the end, it's got quite a bite. Or should I say, sting?

I want more "Bug Man"!

This was an excellent, and well-written first novel featuring the "Bug Man", a forensic entomologist who knows his field, corpses and all. This book had some very serious comical moments- the bug man is down right hysterical with snappy comebacks, and quick wit! But, he has trouble dealing with the human "species". I really hope to see many more bug man novels- I can't wait for the next one! This was one of those books you just don't want to see end. I highly recommend this book to every mystery lover out there who is interested in forensics, and won't mind the sometimes graphic detail of what those critters do to our bodies once we pass on!