Strong-willed women solving puzzling mysteries
are the focus of two recent highly entertaining crime novels.
"Burden of Truth" by Terri Nolan (Midnight
Ink, $14.99) is a complex paperback debut set in California that introduces
Birdie Keane, author and investigative reporter.
Keane, who's won a Pulitzer Prize for her work,
is also a recovering alcoholic. When LAPD cop Matt Whelen, the love
of her life, dies from an apparent drug overdoes, Keane is devastated--and
also suspicious.
She uncovers facts that don't quite jibe, prodding
her into further investigation. She's also trying to disprove allegations
that he was a "dirty" cop.
Matt has left clues behind that indicate he's got
hidden evidence involving a 16-year-old cold case; Keane, who's inherited
Matt's considerable estate, suddenly finds her life is in danger--someone
wants to permanently halt her inquiries.
As the body count rises, the tension steadily mounts.
The deadly conclusion is surprising, shocking and unusual, but Nolan
deftly makes it all seem believable.
There are so many characters in this book that
you'll really need a scorecard; fortunately, Nolan initially provides
three pages of family tree and relationship information.
This is a fast-paced, dark, compelling mystery
that's the first in a new series; Nolan shows exciting promise as one
of America's hot new crime novelists.
"Sleight of Hand" by Phillip Margolin
(Harper, $26.99) is the latest in his popular series starring Dana Cutler,
a hard-working, quick-thinking private investigator.
A former Washington, D.C. cop, Cutler takes on
an unusual, well-paying case that requires her to immediately go to
the far Pacific Northwest.
With similarities to Dashiell Hammett's "The
Maltese Falcon," she's trying to track down a stolen relic, a golden
scepter dating back to the Ottoman Empire.
Cutler has no success and returns home frustrated;
soon she's in the middle of a case involving Horace Blair, an exceptionally
wealthy man who's accused of murdering Carrie, his much younger wife.
Charles Benedict is a sneaky lawyer, a manipulative
magician and a cold hit man. He's hired by Blair as his defense attorney;
ironically, psychopathic Benedict cleverly set up the entire situation.
Margolin is in fine form with a highly entertaining
tale of death and deceit; Cutler is creatively triumphant in a number
of ways, as justice prevails.
Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing's Curious Book
Shop,
has reviewed crime novels and Michigan books regularly since 1987.
Find books by great local authors (and more!)
at the Curious Book Shop, an independent
book shop in East Lansing, founded in 1969.
Curious Book Shop
307 East Grand River Avenue
East Lansing, Michigan
517.332.0112
This review was published by the Lansing State Journal on April 28, 2013.
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