Doctor Lovebeads

Doctor Lovebeads (Literary Mystery)

By Gary Reilly

ISBN #978-0984786053

Running Meter Press

Price $16.95

296 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Murph Joins The Hippies”

Brendon Murphy, a Rocky Mountain cab driver in Denver tends to get involved too often with his passengers’ personal lives. While parked in front of a hotel waiting for fares, he spots three kids dressed like hippies, panhandling. Fearing the doorman of the hotel will call the police he offers the kids a free ride to a safer location. The next day he spots the same kids panhandling at a bus stop in town, and pulls up to ask them what they are doing. A bus stop isn’t a good place to panhandle either. Learning that two of the girls have free tickets to a concert miles away, and knowing they don’t have the money to get there – or the time, as it’s only a few hours till the concert starts, he feels sorry for them and offers to take them there in his cab – free.

Everything is fine until he learns the girls are missing, and the police are investigating the case. Murph discovers that the girls are staying at a commune with more hippies, and decides it’s his fault. Yep, he gets involved again. But this time he dresses like a hippy and enters the commune, hoping to talk the girls into coming back to their families. It begets more problems than he can imagine.

Murph’s latest problems appear set to fail from the start, as the girls are there of their own will, and the members of the commune are willing to protect them from outside interference. Maybe this time the Asphalt Warrior has bitten off more than he can chew.

As always, the adventures of the Asphalt Warrior are an entertaining and fun read. Somehow, you just know the cab driver will find a way – if he can live through the experience. I was also amused as Murph thought back to reading Doc Savage and wanting to grow up to be like Doc. The Doc Savage series must have influenced a lot of young men and women growing up. I knew several who became doctors because of Savage. It is little wonder the Asphalt Warrior has become highly recommended reading.

 Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories