TIm Downs

Dear Readers,

The Nick of Time by Tim Downs is the 6th Bug Man book.  I remember when I read Shoofly Pie right after it came out.  I kept thinking "This is something I have been looking for in the Christian Fiction market."  They are a good fun read with a mystery mixed in. 

Nick Polchak is a know-it-all when it comes to bugs.  Ask him, he will tell you, but when it comes to humans he is very confused by us all.  Then when it comes to females he is completely lost. Maybe that explains the way he is acting the week before his wedding.

When a friend calls and asks Nick to come and help him with a mystery, Nick, of course, says yes.  Alena, his fiancée', is confused by him thinking this is a good idea.  She is not happy, but in typical Nick fashion, he doesn't understand the problem. 

Ok anything else I would say would actually take away from the book and I most certainly don't want to do that, so you will have to read it if you want to know what happens.

If you have been reading the Bug Man series this is a great next edition, but if you haven't make sure you start at Shoofly Pie and treat yourself to a wonderful series.

I think besides the great humor and interesting mysteries the thing I like the most about this series is "watching" Nick become more and more human.  It is not a journey he has been making willingly, but it is happening and yes it has been funny.  He still isn't sure he is human, but he is actually able to act like one once in a while. In his own strange way I am sure he loves Alena, but of course then why would he run off the week before his wedding?

Happy Reading.

Tim Downs

Dear Readers,

I think one of my favorite characters in books is Nick Polchak. If you haven't meet the Bug Guy yet then you need to read any one of his books. Ends of the Earth by Tim Downs is the 5th one in the series (without counting Plaguemaker where Nick only had a cameo spot). They are all great fun and he has me chuckling at him and how he has a knack for irritating his fellow Professors.

In "Ends" an old friend calls out of the blue asking Nick to help her. Kathryn's husband is murdered and she knows that Nick can help the police find the answers. He arrives not knowing that she is the reason for the call. He in turns calls Alena thinking he would need her help and the help of her dogs. Of course you remember Alena if you read Less than Dead and Kathryn is from Shoo-fly Pie.

The clues and other creepy crawleys don't add up and Nick is unsure who really did murder Michael. Little does he know how close the murderer is to him.

So in typical fashion Nick is clueless about other people and their feelings. He has no idea what to do with one woman who likes him let alone two. He is just so him in how he treats "us humans." Which I am sure is some much a part of the appeal of these books for me. He is someone who if I knew him in real life would drive me completely bonkers, but reading about him as he "tortures" other people is funny.

I have one complaint. Tim doesn't complete the book. I can't tell you what he doesn't complete but you need to go on line to finish it. I really felt like that was a bit lazy on his side of things, but I did go on line and finish it. It is something you will want to do, but I still felt a bit cheated by it all. But don't not read the book for that reason, the mystery is solved by the end of the book so you don't have to worry about not knowing the ending if you don't like going on line.

The Bug Man will be forever changed by the ending of the story. :-)

Happy Reading

Tim Downs

Dear Readers,
Tim Downs is back with his 4th bug guy book. Less than Dead continues the story of Nick Polchek story.

Nick has finally meet his match. He is hired to find out why there is dead bodies on the land where the new shopping mall is going up. When the first cadavier dog fails to find more bodies, Nick, of course, desides to hire someone new. The witch of Endor, or Alena to just a few people. She trains dogs that are able to find just about anyone, living or dead. She is hard headed, opinionated, and very independent, so in other words just like Nick. Which of course makes for some great conversations and scenes in the book.

If you know Nick at all you know that he never goes by the rules. He doesn't really see any sense in doing something just because someone asked him to. Even when his friend is removed from the case and begs him to cooperate with the new guy, Nick does his own thing. Which of course makes this much more interesting. Add a senator-soon to be president if the election goes well- and his wife who have a few to many skeletons in the closet to make this an interesting tale.

There is plenty of murder and mayhew to satisfy anyone that loves a good mystery and then just add Nick and his attitude and mouth and I actually found myself laughing out loud. I love Nick the bug guy and can't wait for his next installment. I also would love to meet Tim Downs to see where this great character is coming from

Happy Reading