Death and Downsizing (A Baltimore Homicide Detective Novel)


Fiction - Mystery - General
271 Pages
Reviewed on 02/21/2014
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Walt Lamberg is a writer, editor, songwriter, and veteran living near Baltimore, Maryland. He served a 13-month tour of duty with the 2nd Infantry Division, in South Korea.

He has published a murder mystery novel set in Baltimore in the 1990s, a novel about family, a contemporary fiction short story collection with nine stories, a short story set in Vietnam, two short stories about musicians, two collections of song lyrics and lyric poems, and a work of literary analysis. He is also publishing a series of single short stories about life in the Army from 1968 to 1970. The stories take place in South Korea; Fort Holabird, Maryland; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Dix, New Jersey; and Ypsilanti, Michigan.

He was an editor of the screenplay for "Casualties of the State" by Corner Film Productions and is an associate with the independent film company.

He has also co-authored a college textbook for Rand McNally and an elementary/middle school grammar workbook series for Steck-Vaughn. He is the author of a high school workbook series on basic writing skills for Media Materials.

He writes contemporary country music songs. Here is the URL for several of his songs on the website Soundclick:

https://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=707234&content=music

Here is the URL for his Facebook Author's page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Short-Stories-for-the-Good-Guys-in-The-Army/168550033209950

    Book Review

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

Death and Downsizing are two things that people in Baltimore can be sure of. Howard Nobel, president and chief executive officer of Baltech Inc., is found beheaded in his office and the weapon used just happens to be his own Samurai sword. Detectives Joseph Isaacson and Daniel Burns are assigned to the case and find many suspects who have good motives for killing the victim. Howard Nobel was not the most likable person to work for, even more so after he downsized the company. The detectives take their work seriously, although they can’t resist injecting humour into their case when it permits, which is throughout the story. This lighthearted mystery book is written by author Walt Lamberg.

One added bonus of reading Death and Downsizing is that you will gain a bit of knowledge on Japanese history, namely the Samurai culture. The author, Walt Lamberg writes expertly on this subject as it is an integral part of the story. Although the plot is not action packed, it is filled with a “who did it?” suspense as the witty detectives try to solve the case, and that does take a while. Howard Nobel had his share of enemies. The setting and personalities of the characters are good and came through nicely in the writing. One of the things I like about Walt Lamberg’s writing is the detailed descriptions given of the cast of characters' backgrounds. He introduces you to their different lifestyles and races with humour, without coming across as being prejudiced.