Name Games: A Mark Manning Mystery

by Michael Craft

Book Overview

Mark Manning, once a prominent journalist at a major daily newspaper in Chicago, is now the owner and publisher of the Dumont Daily Register, the daily paper in a small Wisconsin city. Here the biggest news is the impending city council report on a proposed new adult bookstore zoning law, the upcoming election for Sheriff and the upcoming annual exhibition of the Midwest Miniatures Society. In a unique coup for the first-ever miniatures exhibition...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312270798
• ISBN13: 9780312270797
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Awesome Mystery

This book was a total pleasure to read. This is the first one of the "Mark Manning" series that I've read. The murder story-line was very interesting. The mystery took a 'spin' on what I think would be some of the typical gay male fantasies while keeping you guessing to "who did it?". Michael Craft then takes the story a step further by devoloping the main characters through day to day experiences outside of the mystery. Experiences and emotions that gay males might go through in similiar everyday life situations. Mark and Neil (The 2 partners) may not experiencing what you or I have experienced in our life, but their thoughts and reactions to their personal life is interesting to follow. It made me anticipate what would happen next in the new book. Luckily for me, Michael Craft's new addition to the series is now out, "Boy Toy". And I'm finding out how the characters developed. I'm hooked. I've never been a fan of Mystery novels. Now I am. My first was R.D. Zimmerman's "Innuendo", which I totally enjoyed. That made me search the web for more. I found one I really didn't enjoy. But then I found Michael Craft. "Name Games" has me anticipating for more!

Who Said that Life in a Small Town is Boring?

Intrepid journalist Mark Manning returns in a fourth novel of mystery that deals with another celebrated murder among the citizenry of the small town of Dumont, Wisconsin. As was with his last novel, author Craft continues his first-person narrative style that is actually becoming a technique that makes Manning such an interesting character. Many of the characters from previous novels - the ones who aren't dead, of course - make return appearances in this work: Neil, Mark's lover of three years; Roxanne, a lawyer friend from Chicago; Thad, Mark's newly acquired "son" from the last adventure; Lucy Haring and Glee Savage, employees of the Dumont Register, Mark's newspaper; Doug Pierce, the local sheriff, and Merriam Westerman, radical feminist and Manning's chief adversary. Along with these, Craft introduces us to several other intriguing characters that make the town of Dumont a haven of deceit and murder. Although only one killing occurs, the list of suspects is long. At one instance, with all the twist and turns that the novel takes, I was beginning to think that our protagonist, Manning, may have been the guilty culprit.But, in his usual brilliant style, Craft strings us along until a very satisfying end, intermittently throwing in a few glimpses of "domesticity" in Manning's life with Neil and Thad. This touch never distracts from the mystery at hand; it serves to show the less showy aspects of everyone's day-to-day experience. The fact that the household is far-from-traditional is never sensationalized. In fact, with the modern "family" being as diverse as it is, Craft simply is presenting life that is probably more widespread that is commonly known.Michael Craft deserves a much wider audience. His second novel, "Eye Contact" should have been the one to catapult him to great acclaim. However, the subsequent "maturing" of Manning and company may grasp more fans and propel the author to his rightful place among America's readers.Maybe, if Craft decides in some future piece to make Thad a little bespeckled adolescent who uses magic to thwart evil...

A Whopper of a Mystery!

After many disappointments in reading mystery/suspense novels by gay writers, I finally discovered Michael Craft. NAME GAMES contains all the criteria of what I consider a good gay novel:EXCELLENT WRITING. The author's skillful writing is full of wit and fun. And his characterization is great. I got to know and care about the characters in NAME GAMES. They were not flat, stereotyped, two-dimensional characters as one finds in so many gay novels.GOOD STORY. This novel was a real page-turner. Rarely do I hate to see a book come to an end as I did this one. Even though I had my suspicions quite early as to whom the murderer might be, I had my mind changed several times by clever twists and turns the author created to throw his readers off-track.NO PREACHING. So many gay writers want to pound the gay message into readers' heads until the sermonizing destroys the story. Craft, without using a sledgehammer to do so, depicts normal gay people doing what they have to do to get along in a less-than-perfect society. The readers can agree or disagree with Mark Manning and his family/friends' lifestyles, but they aren't forced to swallow a lesson with every page as if they were being spoon-fed a big dose of castor oil. If I have one criticism, I think Mr. Craft makes the gay lifestyle a little too easily accepted by the townspeople of Dumont, Wisconsin. Folks outside a major city (from my observations being raised in a small town) are not easy to convince that being gay is not a product of the Devil. The town's number one homophobic, Miriam Westerman (who is such a camp, she should reappear in every Mark Manning mystery!), is a perfect villain, though, and more than compensates for the lack of the usual signs of small-town bigotry.I have not read his earlier novels, but judging by the reviews of his previous works, Michael Craft's writing gets more skillful with each new book. Michael Craft has captured me as a loyal reader as long as he turns out the quality writing I found in NAME GAMES.

Great read!

While it isn't required to read them in sequence, you get a better appreciation of Mark's and Neil's relationship if you do. I enjoy the way their relationship is fleshed out a little more with each book. That's not meant to detract from the main plotlines. Michael Craft has not failed to deliver believable, logical scenarios. There was one thing I particularly loved about this book. The reader has all the clues needed to make his/her own theories, theories the characters haven't mentioned yet. Craft doesn't hide clues. The conclusion of his stories doesn't introduce new people/facts as a convenient way to tie up loose ends.I've enjoyed all the Mark Manning books, but this one in particular was very hard to put down. Once the fifth book is available, I'll be getting it as well!

The maturing of Manning and Craft......

I've read the previous Manning mysteries and with each one I've learned a littled more about Manning. However, I always wanted a little more insight. In Craft's latest work, Name Games, Manning is finally a full fledged character. A character the reader truly gets to know and understand. The previous Manning was unsure of himself and this left the reader unsure as well. The new Manning is mature, confident, witty (thank God!) and sometimes jaded. My only complaint is to Manning should get a subscription to GQ! This is the best of Craft. The plot flows and as usual the reader can "guess" the killer, but why bother to strain when Craft's writing keeps you enticed until the end.Bood job Michael!