Family Values

Mario Balzic Detective Mystery #13

by K.C. Constantine

When a 17-year-old murder case rears its head, Balzic hears a variety of stories about a drug deal gone wrong and two bodies in a cabin. The fading, twisty trail leads him to a corrupt small-town police chief, now immobilised by a stroke.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Writing

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

Carl Constantine Kosak is an American mystery author known for his work as K.C. Constantine. Little is known about Kosak, as he prefers anonymity and has given only a few interviews. He was born in 1934 and served in the Marines in the early 1950s. He lives in Greensburg PA with wife Linda.



http://www.badattitudes.com/KCCintvw....

Reviews

[Robert Muller]

This late entry into the series returns Mario Balzic to investigating crimes rather than ranting about the ills of society. It returns the novel format to showing rather than telling. Its lack of chapter structure is disconcerting but not really an indicator of anything other than the author's desire to shake things up a little, as the scene structure is clear from the transitions in the writing—you always know where, when, and why Balzic is doing something. I found one thing in particular interesting—how Constantine develops backstory. Balzic reads all the reports about the cons he's interviewing, but he tells us about what he's learned only in the interviews, as dialogue. This makes it natural for the backstory to be completely relevant to the plot, a very effective way of telling a tale that is mostly backstory--essentially a cold case. The sub-genre of this book is new: a noir anti-police-procedural, with the backstory being a stellar, detailed example of how policing should not be done, and the main story being our hero's journey through a maze of clues and nasty events that teach him a lot about himself and his own way of policing and its effects on his own "family values."

[Hans]

4.5 stars - The Rocksburg / Balzic series is a unique beast. The books seem to be tossed into the mystery section based more on the central character's job then on what actually takes place in the books. In most other mystery books, the scenario would be a man walks into a bar and offers our hero a job. Then, it's all about the job. With Constantine, Mario's family relationship is just as important, if not more important, than the job. The job gets us to the center of Mario's marriage. So, we spend time with Mario as he and his wife sort out how the job effects their life. If you appreciate this, you get the book (and the series). This volume is even better if you go back to the beginning of the series. The investigation is secondary, though it has a powerful effect on Mario and Ruth.

[Jennifer]

Worst book I've read this year: 1st place. Congrats.

[Anne]

A LOT of conversation.

[Maureen]

I labored through this because it was set in western Pennsylvania, where I spent the early part of my life. I enjoyed the character of the protagonist, Mario, the retired police
chief, and found the various settings interesting. It was difficult for me to wade through the naturalistic dialogue, probably very true to life, but laden with profanity. Not my cup of tea. However, interesting characters and unusual plot.

[Burt]

This was the first book that I'd read in KC Constantine's Mario Balzic series. Family Value is decent, but it suffers from a predictable plot. With all of the mysteries on the market, I can't recommend this one.

[Paul Wilner]

Good stuff.

[Bill Cissna]

One of the most solid entries in the Constantine series of Rocksburg novels, with at least one case in question but "family" values to be studied on multiple levels.

[Salahuddin Hourani]

ملاحظة لي: لم اقرا الكتاب بعد

مقترح من ستيفين كينغ

[Jeremy Hornik]

And reread again. Wow, is Constantine good... on class, on sex. Gorier and dirtier than usual, because it shows the main character to be something of a prude. A retired police chief...

Mario Balzic is in retirement, fighting with his wife, when a state AG hires him to investigate an old case. The killer has an alibi he's finally talking about. And that's good, that's all good, but what's really good is the depth: the relations between men and women, between men and work, between rich and poor, between the (trying to be) good and the happily evil. And Constantine teases this all out in rich dialogue.

Constantine: a full list of his books is here, along with his real name and some biographical stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._C._Co...

You should look him up. You really should.

[Zirk]

Has dialogue ever been so riveting? With few exceptions, K.C. Constantine's books are outstanding. This one could be the grittiest of the lot. The Walczinsky family at the heart of this story are among the sickest and saddest fictional characters you'll encounter anywhere. And all this horror and tragedy is beautifully framed between domestic scenes of Mario and Ruth Balzic's struggles to cope with his retirement. The chats between the two go on and on and on, and you don't want them to stop either. Constantine is a master who belongs among the very best crime writers.

[Linda]

There was nothing special about the story, dialogue, characters etc. In fact it was a bit sad. Told a story of a sadistic police chief that railroaded people and ruined their lives. But the interesting part was the book had no chapters. It was just 300 pages of words divided into paragraphs. Every once in a While there was extra white space between paragraphs, but other than that, no pause in the story. It made it hard to put it down -there was no place to take a break. Can't say I liked the style but it's memorable. Will check out authors other books to see if this is a signature.

[LJ]

FAMILY VALUES – NR
K.C. Constantine – 13th in series
Retired police chief Mario Balzic as been asked to come out of retirement to investigate a special case from 17 years ago when a drug deal went bad and two pushers were killed. The man convicted of the crime insists he is innocent and has proof to back his claim.

I could not get into this book at all; the characters were confusing and uninteresting. I found myself putting it down and not being interested enough to pick it up again.

[Rogue Reader]

Another solid from KC Constantine. Balzic is retired and he and Ruth are driving each other crazy so he takes a contract job. What he discovers is unmentionable, and unbearable - only Ruth's love and care and good sex distract him from sinking into a morass. As always splendid dialect and insight, local small town Pennsylvania is perfect. Only two meals described this time, and not to much detail. A great read.

[Ed]

#13 in the Mario Balzic / Rocksburg, PA series.

Mario Balzic is approached by a deputy Attorney General to be a special investigator for the State Justice Department and look into the evidence for a post-conviction hearing of a seventeen year old multiple murder during a drug deal. Mario makes the rounds interviewing the involved parties and peeling the layers of conflicting stories.

[Josh McDevitt-Spall]

A fine crime novel, and an entertaining read. Wish it were broken into chapters as it seems to be most digestible in chunks. A decent mystery that never strives to be more than it is. It's basically any of TV's innumerable police procedurals in book form.

[Ajcc]

F 813.54 CONS

[Debra]

Stephen King recommended.

[Roland]

so so