From Publishers Weekly
If this first mystery from fantasy author Rosenberg (Not Exactly the Three Musketeers) were a movie, it might be titled "The Boyz in the 'Hood Take a Day Trip to Lake Woebegone." Ernest "Sparky" Hemingway, a 50-ish copyeditor living in Hardwoods, N.Dak., gets a call from the teenage daughter of his Vietnam buddy George "Prez" Washington (an officer with a strange sense of humor put them both in the same tank crew, along with a guy called Doc Holliday). Seems that Prez, a Minneapolis pharmacist, has been killed by some of that city's burgeoning crew of gangbangers and left instructions that Hemingway and/or Holliday (now practicing medicine in Indianapolis) were to be called to look after daughter Tenisha in the event of his death. After both Sparky and Doc rush to Minneapolis and anger a large number of gangstas and local cops, Sparky takes the scared, shy, sullen Tenisha home to Hardwoods, where the locals are astonished to find an urban black teenager in their midst. An FBI agent with a Vietnamese face and a Norwegian last name shows up, making mysterious noises about Prez and his daughter; then four young black males are found dead in a car not far from Hardwoods. Rosenberg's plotting has some intriguing twists, and his portrait of Sparky as a man smarter and tougher than he looks is interesting, but the disparate elements never quite gel into an exciting or entertaining whole.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
This is the first mystery from accomplished fantasy novelist Rosenberg. Ernest "Sparky" Hemingway is a copy editor, growing older and wearier by the day. When the daughter of old Vietnam buddy George Washington asks him to help her out of a tricky situation, he decides, somewhat unenthusiastically, to give it a shot. Teaming up with his ol' pal Doc Holliday, Sparky sets off from his comfy North Dakota home to the big, bad city of Minneapolis on his reluctant rescue mission. This is the first in a projected series of Sparky Hemingway novels, and if the series is to flourish, the author needs to make a few changes. The people-with-famous-names gimmick is tiresome; the first-person narration (by Hemingway) is wearisome; and one of the story's central plot points--the color of Tenishia Washington's skin--is handled in a manner that some readers might find distasteful. Still, Rosenberg has a sound premise (the aging-copy-editor-turned-sleuth), and readers looking for something offbeat may enjoy the story. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
When aging, balding, copy editor Ernest "Sparky" Hemingway (no relation) gets a call from the daughter of his Vietnam buddy George Washington (also no relation), he is faced with a choice. He can head out to Minneapolis to help her out of a jam or hang up the phone--and this phone call has the potential to turn Sparky's life upside down. He's managed to erect a pretty effective cocoon around himself over the last few years, and no amount of aggravation (or thoughts about his long-gone ex-wife) can get through his very carefully nurtured shell. He's very comfortable living (well, maybe just existing) in the little North Dakota town of Hardwoods, filled with its decidedly odd folks who just do what they have to in order to get along, where everybody knows everybody else's secret but pretends they don't. He's left alone, and that's the way Sparky likes it.

But you don't walk away from a promise. Especially when that promise was made to somebody who pulled your butt out of more unfriendly and friendly fire than a hailstorm of June bugs. You don't ask, you just do.

His fellow vet buddy Doc Holiday (you guessed it, no relation) meets him in Minneapolis and tosses him a .45, which comes in handy when they run into a hard time with some gang-bangers who are after the girl in question. They rescue Washington's teenage daughter, Tenisha, and Doc and Sparky split up, Sparky taking Tenisha and her cat back to his place.
Between dealing with the aforementioned gang-bangers, the Minneapolis police, who are hassling Sparky, Doc's brain tumor, and the mostly white town Sparky lives in taking umbrage at the color of Tenisha's skin--not to mention having to haul a four-month-pregnant neighbor and her baby to his house for safety during a blizzard--Sparky thinks he's handling himself pretty well.

And then things start to get weird.



About the Author
Joel Rosenberg is the author of the best-selling Guardians of the Flame books as well as the D'Shai and Keepers of the Hidden Ways series. He resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Home Front is the first in his Ernest "Sparky" Hemingway mysteries, a delightful new series with a wonderfully quirky character set in the land of the Cohen Brothers' Fargo.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"When aging, balding copyeditor Ernest "Sparky" Hemingway (no relation) gets a call from the daughter of his Vietnam buddy George Washington (also no relation), he is faced with a choice. He can head to Minneapolis to help her out of a jam or hang up the phone - and this phone call has the potential to turn Sparky's life upside down. He's managed to erect a pretty effective cocoon around himself over the last few years, and no amount of aggravation (or thoughts about his long-gone ex-wife) can get through his very carefully nurtured shell. He's very comfortable living (well, maybe just existing) in the little North Dakota town of Hardwood, filled with its decidedly odd folks who just do what they have to in order to get along, where everybody knows everybody else's secret but pretends they don't. He's left alone, and that's the way Sparky likes it." "But you don't walk away from a promise. Especially when that promise was made to somebody who pulled your butt out of more unfriendly and friendly fire than a hailstorm of June bugs. You don't ask, you just do." "His fellow vet buddy Doc Holliday (you guessed it, no relation) meets him in Minneapolis and tosses him a .45, which comes in handy when they run into a hard time with some gangbangers who are after the girl in question. They rescue Washington's teenage daughter, Tenishia, and Doc and Sparky split up, Sparky taking Tenishia and her cat back to his place." Between dealing with the aforementioned gangbangers, the Minneapolis police, who are hassling Sparky, Doc's brain tumor, and the mostly white town Sparky lives in taking umbrage at the color of Tenishia's skin - not to mention having to haul a four-months-pregnant neighbor and her baby to his house for safety during a blizzard - Sparky thinks he's handling himself pretty well. And then things start to get weird.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

If this first mystery from fantasy author Rosenberg (Not Exactly the Three Musketeers) were a movie, it might be titled "The Boyz in the 'Hood Take a Day Trip to Lake Woebegone." Ernest "Sparky" Hemingway, a 50-ish copyeditor living in Hardwoods, N.Dak., gets a call from the teenage daughter of his Vietnam buddy George "Prez" Washington (an officer with a strange sense of humor put them both in the same tank crew, along with a guy called Doc Holliday). Seems that Prez, a Minneapolis pharmacist, has been killed by some of that city's burgeoning crew of gangbangers and left instructions that Hemingway and/or Holliday (now practicing medicine in Indianapolis) were to be called to look after daughter Tenisha in the event of his death. After both Sparky and Doc rush to Minneapolis and anger a large number of gangstas and local cops, Sparky takes the scared, shy, sullen Tenisha home to Hardwoods, where the locals are astonished to find an urban black teenager in their midst. An FBI agent with a Vietnamese face and a Norwegian last name shows up, making mysterious noises about Prez and his daughter; then four young black males are found dead in a car not far from Hardwoods. Rosenberg's plotting has some intriguing twists, and his portrait of Sparky as a man smarter and tougher than he looks is interesting, but the disparate elements never quite gel into an exciting or entertaining whole. (Mar. 12) FYI: The author should not be confused with Joel C. Rosenberg, author of the bestselling thriller The Last Jihad, also from Forge. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews