Violations of Causality

A Skip Gershwin Mystery

By: Herb Guggenheim

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

A tawdry tale of love, lust, and murder!

Professor Harold Berwyn has just been brutally murdered, but graduate creative writing student Skip Gershwin is too self-absorbed to care. His chief preoccupations are finding a girlfriend and becoming a famous American poet. When he meets Gudrun Frege, a brilliant Austrian au pair, it appears that his girlfriend problems are over. But he is soon lured into a torrid love affair by ultra-seductive art student Lana Fish. As Skip's romantic entanglements spiral out of control, the criminal investigation into Berwyn's murder turns white-hot. When federal agents knock on his door, Skip discovers that he himself is the number-one suspect.

©2015, 2016 Herbert S. Guggenheim (P)2016 Herbert S. Guggenheim

Critic reviews

"I started reading this book, taking it as a straightforward mystery with a little romance - but I soon discovered it was so much more. This is a witty, thoughtfully written satire. I found myself laughing out loud at the outrageousness of some of the characters. (Won't spoil the fun by saying who.) The story succeeds on multiple levels, entertaining while imparting a little wisdom now and again. Love the academic world setting. I'll be looking for more from this author." (Kathryn Johnson, author of The Gentleman Poet)

Hilarious and totally unexpected!

Violations of causality is a satiric mix of fallen romance and a mystery. When I started the book I was expecting a mystery, but that's just a very small part of the story. I don't know if it was the authors intention to plot a mystery, but that's not the actual plot.

Skip is a 23 year old student. Poet and writer who always seems to have romantic troubles. He meets the Austrian girl Gudrun and enters a relationship with her - not love a first sight, but it's a girl and he likes her. Then he meets the hot and a 36 yo Lana, falls head-over-heels in love with her and now he's in a dilemma. Gudrun or Lana? In between a professor at the University gets killed and Skip gets blamed for the murder.

The book is written in style I'm defenitely not used to, with very short chapters and when I chapter ends it's very abruptly and I wanted to know more. But there will be more. I thought 'huh?' many times and then laughing out loud a lot. I felt I was watching a sitcom with a lot of situation based pitfalls and satiric moments. I'd love to read more novels by this author for my need-to-laugh moments!

Joe Hempel did an outstanding narration catching the humor of this story. He was perfect for this book and very pleasent to listen to. I never had a bored moment. He does the accents and characters perfectly and believable, exept for a few lines in the book where he has to speak German (Austrian) - that was entertaining as well, but it wasn't German. Overall, I always enjoy Joe's narration, so never mind about that!

*This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review.

A madcap romp through time and space

What made the experience of listening to Violations of Causality the most enjoyable?

The reader does an excellent job of reading the novel with inflection and urgency.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Mr. Guggenheim's taut presentation drives the plot along. There is little dross to be found.

Have you listened to any of Joe Hempel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the only reading by Mr. Hempel which I have encountered.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I prefer to savour it.

Any additional comments?

The book itself is well-written. It is difficult to characterize, containing as it does elements of various genres: thriller/noir; science fiction; madcap comedy. The main character, Skip, is not entirely likable. He is a scoundrel in some ways, and yet, he tries to do the right thing. The epilogue to the novel makes it clear that at some point Skip matured into a nicer human being. Perhaps future adventures will reveal this process in more depth.I was able to acquire the audible recording without cost through a promotional event. I have also read the novel in its print edition.

Cause and Effect: Murder, Poetry, Chapters Galore

What made the experience of listening to Violations of Causality the most enjoyable?

There's Rampant Tongue in Cheek, Lust and the year 1980. Not to mention great memories of the time Jimmy Carter, Trimline Phones. A murder mostly secondary to the plot. Oh, and foam birth control! And all brought together in a fun listen.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Violations of Causality?

The Pot and Jim Beam fueled Limerick circle, followed closely by the duct taped to a chain link fence scene. And numerous other visually stimulating incidents. Convoluted, but it worked well. Funny, entertaining

Which character – as performed by Joe Hempel – was your favorite?

Skip Gershwin. But Mr Hempel does a fine job with the whole ensemble and situations.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Seamus Weinberg University, the Faber College of the 80's. Animal House goes, uh, highbrow...

Any additional comments?

I was entertained. Which is high praise. I wasn't sure what to expect, it had historic social placement in 1980, college hijinks, science fiction, mystery, sex... and really good definitions of poetry style!!! roflmao.

Thanks for the opportunity to review "Violations of Causality: A Skip Gershwin Mystery"!

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Violations of Causality

This story was different than what I'm used to and told in a different way. I keep thinking of the coffee shop people snapping their fingers. It felt a little slow. Finding out who done it was quite a surprise. Great narration.

Don't read the reviews. Jump right in.

So glad that I hadn't read the reviews before starting the book. Because of this, the comedic elements of the book came as a welcome surprise. I had to go back to the book's audible page to check the genre it was classified in. :P

This book has everything for a good time pass - thrill, suspense and comedic relief. Time well spent.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Fun Story, Great Narrator

I really enjoyed this story. I felt it flowed well. The story was fun and full of life. I loved how the characters were portrayed.

Joe Hempel did a fantastic job. The characters were three dimensional and easy to visualize. I haven't listened to him before but would definitely listen to him again.

Viiolations of Causality

I enjoyed listening to his book on Audible. Herb did a really good job weaving the romance, science fiction and mystery genres altogether in a very entertaining story.

The narrator had a nice voice but spoke kind of quickly in some places and nuanced some of the vocabulary.

The title stumps me just a bit.

Skip was a fun character and I would love to hear more about his adventures in the future. Hope there will be more to come.

A fun and entertaining story

This was a fun read, but I really did not like the main character. Though I didn't like the character, Skip, mostly due to his two-timing, cheater status, he was well-developed and quite funny in his sarcastic humor. He was so out-of-place in a murder investigation of Professor Harold Berwyn, but I think that made the story more fun. The cast of characters is widely varied and really contribute to the wild story. I listened to the Audible audio version narrated by Joe Hempel. I enjoy Hempel's narrations, and this one was no exception. He really plays the characters well and they seem so realistic with his voice. Overall, if you're looking for a fun and entertaining read, I recommend giving this book a try.

80s throwback humorous mystery

What made the experience of listening to Violations of Causality the most enjoyable?

Joe Hempel and his great character narration. There is great distinction between the characters and wonderful portrayals of the academic set. The book I feel is mislabeled. I would call it a whacky 80s comedy more than a detective story. The main character is a self obsessed moron at times trying to balance a life gone nuts. I enjoyed it for what it is and won't spoil the fun for anyone. I just had to smoke and marvel at some of the ridiculous situations. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Not typical mystery.

This book was not what I was expecting. Yes there was a murder, and the murderer was revealed at the end, but no-one tried to solve the crime. This story supposedly took place around 1980. I had difficultly remaining interested in the story. I did not really like the characters in the book. My review is my opinion of the book, and not a synopsis of the book. I thought the narrator did a good job on the book, and I enjoyed listening to his voice. Science Fiction is not my genre and I felt like the author tried to mesh some science fiction with collegiate english academia and it fell short for me. I was voluntarily provided with this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher.