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Mark Manning Mystery #3
Body Language
A midlife crisis sends Chicago Journal reporter Mark Manning back to his Wisconsin hometown—and into a morass of lust, lies, and lethal family secretsAn unexpected windfall has given burned-out Chicago journalist Mark Manning the chance to reconnect with his boyhood roots. With the blessing of his lover, Neil, he leaves the Windy City to return to Dumont, Wisconsin, to take over the town paper. His long-awaited family reunion is cut short when his cousin Suzanne is bludgeoned to death just before Christmas dinner. Before she dies, she whispers something to Manning: the name of her son.
Was she expressing a mother’s dying wish for the future welfare of her child? Or revealing the identity of her murderer? When Manning ends up in the local law’s sights, he’s suddenly racing against time to clear his own name and smoke out a killer. With no lack of suspects, from a troubled homophobe to a lesbian activist to a housekeeper, the clock is ticking on a story that could be the biggest of Manning’s career—if he lives long enough to write it.
Body Language is the third book in Michael Craft’s Mark Manning series, which begins with Flight Dreams and Eye Contact.
273 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
28 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Michael Craft
44 books55 followersMichael Craft is the author of 20 published novels, four of which have been honored as finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. The first installment of his Dante & Jazz series, "Desert Getaway," was a 2023 MWA Edgars nominee for the Lilian Jackson Braun Award. The second installment, "Desert Deadline," was a Gold Winner of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, as was his 2019 mystery, "ChoirMaster." In addition, his prize-winning short fiction has appeared in British as well as American literary journals. Craft grew up in Illinois and spent his middle years in Wisconsin, which inspired the fictitious small-town setting of Dumont, used in many of his earlier books. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and now lives in Rancho Mirage, California, near Palm Springs, the setting of his current Dante & Jazz mystery series. In 2017, Michael Craft's professional archives were acquired by the Special Collections Department of the Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside. Visit the author's website at www.michaelcraft.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 13, 2016
Best yet
The first two manning stories were good but the location and story seemed not right.
But this one felt like Agatha Christie novel of Tommy and Topuence with a gay them.
Very little political emphasise on a political agenda.
Problem with most gay character books always the bad guys are some religious or political slant.
That's ok sometime but it is a bit limiting and impossible to keep guessing since its clear from the beginning the author detest the character and couldn't bother giving the character a soft side.
Most people are not all evil or all good mostly it's fear and indoctrination that twist someone into doing evil things
The first two manning stories were good but the location and story seemed not right.
But this one felt like Agatha Christie novel of Tommy and Topuence with a gay them.
Very little political emphasise on a political agenda.
Problem with most gay character books always the bad guys are some religious or political slant.
That's ok sometime but it is a bit limiting and impossible to keep guessing since its clear from the beginning the author detest the character and couldn't bother giving the character a soft side.
Most people are not all evil or all good mostly it's fear and indoctrination that twist someone into doing evil things
April 30, 2015
This is the first Michael Craft novel that I've read. It's hard to find quality gay literature, in my opinion, and I adored this story. As I haven't read many mystery novels, working my way through this story was quite enjoyable.
My only issues with Body Language is the repetitiveness of the story. Mark Manning spends more time than necessary detailing moments of the past, to the point where it slows the pace of the story. Other than that, I enjoyed Craft's style of writing, which has made me eager to read his other novels.
My only issues with Body Language is the repetitiveness of the story. Mark Manning spends more time than necessary detailing moments of the past, to the point where it slows the pace of the story. Other than that, I enjoyed Craft's style of writing, which has made me eager to read his other novels.
May 1, 2022
Although I read a lot of mystery novels, this one was a departure for me. In 1999 I was living in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. I attended a book signing by Michael Craft at a local independent bookstore. The author announced that he is gay and his main character Mark Manning is gay. I bought his book, which he autographed for me, which is why I know the date. I have taken the book with me through many moves to two different states, but had never read it until a few days ago when I was searching my book shelves for something to read.
It was a fairly interesting locked room mystery, but I figured out who the murderer was early on.
The main character seemed to feel that every man he met was gay. He discovered that both his father and his uncle were gay and had been lovers so he concluded that being gay was hereditary, but his uncle had two sons, neither of whom were gay, so that theory didn't quite hold up.
It seemed that the author felt he had to reinforce that the main character was gay on every page or two. He told us that Mark Manning was gay and he was living with his gay lover. There was no need to repeat it several times. There were other paragraphs that were repeated word for word, which was unnecessary.
The author was living in Racine when I met him and he said that the fictional town of Dumont was really Racine. I asked him why he didn't just name the town Racine, but he said that he wanted to add some streets and businesses that are not in Racine so he felt he needed to use a fictional name.
There wasn't quite as much about Wisconsin as I had hoped. The action of the book takes place at Christmastime and everyone in Wisconsin eats Racine Kringles, a breakfast pastry, during the holidays. He mentioned them once. He also mentioned Brandy old fashioned sweets, which everyone in Wisconsin drinks, but he had one character drink one once. It is difficult to find a bartender outside of Wisconsin who knows how to make one. Believe me, I have looked!
It was an o.k. read, but I'm not interested in reading another book by this author.
It was a fairly interesting locked room mystery, but I figured out who the murderer was early on.
The main character seemed to feel that every man he met was gay. He discovered that both his father and his uncle were gay and had been lovers so he concluded that being gay was hereditary, but his uncle had two sons, neither of whom were gay, so that theory didn't quite hold up.
It seemed that the author felt he had to reinforce that the main character was gay on every page or two. He told us that Mark Manning was gay and he was living with his gay lover. There was no need to repeat it several times. There were other paragraphs that were repeated word for word, which was unnecessary.
The author was living in Racine when I met him and he said that the fictional town of Dumont was really Racine. I asked him why he didn't just name the town Racine, but he said that he wanted to add some streets and businesses that are not in Racine so he felt he needed to use a fictional name.
There wasn't quite as much about Wisconsin as I had hoped. The action of the book takes place at Christmastime and everyone in Wisconsin eats Racine Kringles, a breakfast pastry, during the holidays. He mentioned them once. He also mentioned Brandy old fashioned sweets, which everyone in Wisconsin drinks, but he had one character drink one once. It is difficult to find a bartender outside of Wisconsin who knows how to make one. Believe me, I have looked!
It was an o.k. read, but I'm not interested in reading another book by this author.
October 19, 2019
Those who've read the previous installments of the Manning series and are familiar with Craft's ways, will probably find the general outline of the mystery a little obvious. Even if the author tries to blurs the lines a little and introduce other possibilities, it's not ultimately that effective.
Still it's an easy, fun and undemanding read. Entertainment in book form.
Still it's an easy, fun and undemanding read. Entertainment in book form.
October 23, 2020
Hot reading.
I enjoyed the author’s skilled development of the characters in this story. The story itself had my attention through the reading from page 1 to the conclusion. My intention is to find another mark manning mystery as soon as possible
I enjoyed the author’s skilled development of the characters in this story. The story itself had my attention through the reading from page 1 to the conclusion. My intention is to find another mark manning mystery as soon as possible
November 28, 2020
Enjoyable third book in the series but truthfully most of the “twists” were fairly predictable. Still worth the time to read if you enjoy a good mystery with a gay protagonist.
December 4, 2023
Another great investigator book. I really enjoy the way Michael Craft writes his stories. I look forward to the next book.
January 7, 2019
The series truly hits its stride with Body Language, in voice as well as with the development of the characters. The great thing about rereading this series after a number of years, is knowing I can go straight on to the next book without having to wait!
The series truly hits its stride with Body Language, in voice as well as with the continuing development of the characters. The great thing about rereading this series after a number of years, is knowing I can go straight on to the next book without having to wait!
The series truly hits its stride with Body Language, in voice as well as with the continuing development of the characters. The great thing about rereading this series after a number of years, is knowing I can go straight on to the next book without having to wait!
December 28, 2008
I enjoyed this book even more than the previous. I have sort of a crush on Mark Manning now spurred on by his fetish for khaki's and his cousin which is depicted in this book at great length. This book proves that the author has brought together a unique family and future books should be even more interesting.
January 22, 2019
In book 3, Mark Manning makes some major changes, but his guy Neil sticks by him. The narrative switches from present tense to past and the writing gets better. The red herrings work better. I read each installment in one sitting and you can feel the author honing his Craft, no pun intended. This series is highly recommended (in order), as you will feel the improvement along the way.
January 13, 2024
Mark goes back to his roots and must solve a mystery. I loved the book because it brings new things to Mark's overall life.
September 8, 2015
Steady improvement in the writing, much better than #2...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews