The Wonderland Murders

by Kent Braithwaite

Echoes from America's emerging multi-cultural society reverberate through Jesse Ascencio's most personal case. A gorgeous Asian woman is murdered on the Fourth of July. She is hanging from the rafters... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 189192933X
• ISBN13: 9781891929335
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Four Seasons Publishers
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Trash noir

Our storyteller is a former "G-man", former U.S. congressman, current private investigator, and horrible poet. You get to read a tortured tale about murder, drugs, prostitution, incest, and racism. The plot is one gigantic cliché. The dialog is ludicrously bad. Most of the characters are the dregs of society. Even the few good characters are unlikable because they're so unbelievable. Avoid this book like the plague which would probably be more enjoyable.

A Gold Nugget

California has always been a gold mine for crime fiction. Hammett. Cain. Chandler. MacDonald. In recent times, Roger Simon, Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, and Jan Burke. Kent Braithwaite joins their ranks with his crime novel The Wonderland Murders. It continues the Golden State's golden crime fiction tradition with modern noir twists. His PI is Latino. His themes echo contemporary times. This novel definitely deserves the attention it has received from newspapers, TV, and radio, including Newsweek and NPR. It is a true gold nugget.

A Mystery I Couldn't Put Down

The first sentence in the book leaps off the page and grabs you. "'You called the cops?' I asked, gawking at the corpse. I would've preferred to think I was staring, but I knew , in all likelihood, I was gawking."The speaker is Jesse Ascencio, a real class act private investigator with an intriguing background; former Congressman, FBI agent, poetry writer and faithfully married man. Who wouldn't like him?The corpse is a murdered Asian beauty in a Southern California coastal amusement park.Ascencio, working closely with an African American detective, dives into the investigation only to be hit with additional daily murders. He soon finds himself embroiled in a much bigger picture involving smugglers, prostitutes and then real danger to himself! All the ingredients to keep us reading through the night; just as an excellent mystery should.I'm anxiously looking forward to Mr. Braithwaite's second, third and fourth novels.

Amusement Park Noir

... This Wonderland is located in California, near the Pacific instead of the Atlantic Ocean. The story deals with a private eye who is styled after the PIs in the classics, but with contemporary updates such as his ethnicity and his charming family. The story is as fresh as today's headlines. The plot addresses cultural diversity and immigration issues while also telling an entertaining mystery story. I enjoyed Kent Braithwaite's narrative voice and his sharply written dialog. I liked the way Braithwaite moved his story and his detective out of the confines of the amusement park and into our society as a whole. THE WONDERLAND MURDERS is a gritty book in the noir tradition. If such mysteries are your can of cat food, you'll like this novel.

Terrific, Well Written Mystery

Jesse Asconcio, Hispanic former FBI man, then politician, and now PI and part-time poet, is called to take a look at a dead woman hanging in his-father-in law's amusement park, Wonderland. Police and Jesse soon learn the dead woman was a call girl. And Jesse knows full well that his father-in-law and brothers-in-law frequently make use of the same escort service where the dead woman worked for $750 a night. Within two days another corpse is discovered shot to death at Wonderland, this time a known pimp. Next day, another murder, this time a Wonderland employee stabbed in the House of Horrors. The investigation, headed by Jesse's friend, who happens to be a black detective, begins in earnest, and the male in-laws all find themselves implicated. A woman shows up in Jesse's PI office and drops $2,000 on him to find the daughter she gave up for adoption 17 years ago. Jesse soon finds himself deeply involved in the investigation of the murders, the missing daughter, a prostitution ring and a nasty smuggling ring--more than enough to keep one PI busy for a while. This is a great mystery! The Wonderland ambiance, the detectives working to solve the murders, the vagaries of the wealthy and degenerate--all of these elements blend and work well. I liked the multicultural aspect; the characters were true to life in all cases. And I loved Jesse's relationship with his wife and children--a poignant and different touch for a PI of any nationality. In fact, after the first mention, I never gave a thought to anyone's nationality; it didn't matter to me because they were all so good at their jobs. Excellent work, Kent! My husband, my daughter, and I all loved this book.

The New (Brown) Face of Orange County

Kent Braithwaite's Jesse Ascencio, his private eye hero in his debut mystery, The Wonderland Murders, represents the new face of Orange County. Jesse has a brown face, and he is a positive role model for the Hispanic population in Orange County. As a Latina and a lifelong resident Orange County, I was impressed by this mystery. Braithwaite has his finger on the socio-economic pulse of this region. I enjoyed the play Braithwaite gave to the various ethnic groups who are jockeying for position in our new social order. Jesse's a poet and a private investigator. He is married to an white woman, and his best friend is a black man. These characters represent today's Orange County, and, to a lesser extent, today's new America. Some murders occur at an amusement park owned by Jesse's Newport Beach father-in-law, and his investigation into this Asian woman's theat leads Jesse into entanglements with a prostitution ring. And several more homicides. The story rings true. The dialog reads well. The social message is rewarding. Brathwaite's The Wonderland Murders is a fine first novel.