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Lee Lofland: Howdunit Book of Police Procedure and Investigation
Informative, and at its best when the author sticks to giving straightforward information. Occasionally, though, he lapses into personal accounts full of prose so purple it's like trying to read an eggplant. Outside of these moments, it's a very useful reference.
Alexander McCall Smith: Tears of the Giraffe (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 2)
Another lighthearted yet introspective book about the delightful Precious Ramotswe, the owner of Botswana's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, the (nominal) plot tracks a missing-person case that is a decade old. As she tries to find what became of an American boy in the Kalahari, Mma Ramotswe deals with a number of quandaries - moral, ethical, and personal - with her usual grace and charm.
T. Jefferson Parker: California Girl: A Novel
A compelling and well-written potboiler that spans several decades, as well as several lives, this book recounts the story of four brothers growing up in the 50s and 60s, and a murdered beauty queen. A few too many "wink, nudge" asides regarding the time period conceit, (like, "OH YEAH RIGHT, AND MAYBE MEN WILL WALK ON THE MOON,") but an attention-grabbing and engrossing read nonetheless.
Dick Francis: Dead Cert
Owing a bit to Agatha Christie and a bit to the pulps that preceded it, this British potboiler about murder and intrigue at the races is a brisk and entertaining read. The plot has perhaps a few too many bells and whistles, but it holds your interest.
Lisa Scottoline: Moment of Truth
This book was a bit top-heavy, but picks up momentum a little ways in and is certainly representative of what Scottoline does best. A man frames himself for murder and his resourceful but inexperienced attorney begins to suspect the truth. The ending is a bit contrived for the sake of surprising the reader, but witty dialogue and likable characters carry the day.
Louise Luiggi: Come to the Table: A Passion for Eating and French Living
Despite covering three of my favorite genres - travel writing, food, and memoirs - this book was almost impossible to finish. Chock full of wounded self-aggrandizement, congratulatory narcissism, and righteous indignation, the narration is ironically uninviting.
Dashiell Hammett: The Glass Key
A well-plotted potboiler by an undisputed master of the genre, in which a "cheerfully corrupt ward-heeler" falls under suspicion for the murder of his daughter's former beau, and his best friend sets out to clear his name. Despite the occasionally gratuitous bit of stylizing and a lack of intimacy with the characters, this is still a strong read.
Mary Roberts Rinehart: The Album
A complex suspenser from an author doing what she does best. Set during the Great Depression, the mystery kicks off with a gruesome axe murder and the plot thickens from there as a young woman observes her isolated neighborhood falling prey to an unseen killer. Rinehart overuses the Had-I-But-Known structural conceit in typical fashion, but the story is compelling nonetheless, and employs 19th-Century imagery in an atmospheric fashion.
David Rosenfelt: Open and Shut
Another debut novel, but far more successful than the last I read. The story is a bit far-fetched, sure, but the characters are believable and our attorney hero is charming - so much so that you forget to dislike him for being a bit of a shyster - and the plot (falsely accused man, decades-old mystery) moves quickly enough to hold your interest throughout.
It's official. Facebook is out to destroy your love life...at least the one in cyberspace.
Posted by: carlywei | June 03, 2008 at 11:01 AM
I CANNOT believe I fell for it this time (when I didn't last time). SO funny.
Posted by: May Day | June 05, 2008 at 12:57 PM