December 12–19, 1996

book quarterly

Mysteries

 

Breach of Trust

By Bonnie MacDougal, Pocket Books, 351 p., $23

It's Judith Krantz meets Perry Mason. Author and Philadelphia lawyer Bonnie MacDougal's tale is twisty and the local settings are often glamorous in this legal thriller neatly entwined with a melodramatic love story.

 

Chestnut Mare, Beware

By Jody Jaffe, Fawcett, 358 p., $21

Somehow we end up liking neurotic detective and reluctant fashion reporter Nattie in spite of her relentless inner monologue. Maybe it's her smart mouth. Maybe it's her devotion to show jumping. We certainly root for her success at a ritzy riding class. Nattie manages to be the least hands-on detective ever: all clues arrive by phone. Nevertheless, the story sails over every hurdle and the Southern society characters (the love interest borrows his resume from the author's husband) are solid.

 

The Mummers' Curse

By Gillian Roberts, Ballantine, 232 p., $21

When a Mummer is shot before high school teacher Amanda Pepper's very eyes on New Year's Day, Amanda scours the exotic social enclaves of South Philly seeking the perp. Funny and well garnished with Mummer lore, Roberts' story rings changes on local clichs, with, for example, a "Godfather" type recast as Arthur, the Sausage King.

 

Dead to Rights

By J.A. Jance, Avon, 373 p., $22

Jance's Western detective is the antithesis of the Grafton/ Paretsky breed of rough-talking, spoiling-for-a-fight women. A cross between Amanda Fletcher and Andy Griffith, single mom Sheriff Joanna Brady is tough, dogged and diplomatic. Jance's prose sags occasionally, but it gets the job done — just like Sheriff Brady.

 

Legal Tender

By Lisa Scottoline, Harper Collins, 256 p., $23

In her latest offering, Philly's Lisa Scottoline cleverly blends riffs from her own earlier work with elements reminiscent of Susan Isaacs, Sue Grafton and, perhaps, a soupcon of the great Dick Francis. "Bennie" Rosato is one step ahead of the cops, who think she killed her ex-boyfriend. The story is more about running scared in a wardrobe selected by a personal shopper than about solving a crime, but it's a fast and funny trip.

 

Undone

By Michael Kimball, Avon, 341 p., $23

I don't think I'm giving much away to say that Noel Swift is a femme fatale to make the career of another Sharon Stone. Undone is a story as noir as as the grave, with dialogue so keen, plotting so tight, that one (mostly) forgets to ask, "Why are all these people behaving so stupidly?" The Maine setting is faithfully rendered. Definitely not for claustrophobes or tetchy feminists.

 

Robber's Wine

By Ellen Hart, Seal Press, 304 p., $21.95

Seventh in Ellen Hart's series of Jane Lawless mysteries and one of a growing genre of lesbian mysteries, Robber's Wine has elements of the classic Christie style. Lawless' crabby sidekick Cordelia Thorn is always a bright spot. The plot unravels a little too rapidly at the end, but a skillfully sketched romantic subplot helps to sustain a slightly uneven pace.

 

The Burning Man

By Phillip Margolin, Doubleday, 344 p., $23.95

Attorney Peter Hale starts out a shallow spoiled fuck-up and ends a compassionate hero. Margolin skims the surface of his story, as if sketching scenes for a movie. We readers easily spot anomalies which Peter unaccountably misses and recognize the killer the moment he makes his key mistake. But Margolin competently keeps us in suspense about the fate of Peter's retarded client.

 

Capitol Offense

By Barbara Mikulski & Marylouise Oates, Dutton, 313 p., $23.95

There's a lot of low-fat pasta and maudlin memories in the life of newly appointed Sen. Norie Gorzak. Norie's main political issue is MIAs, including her missing hubby. But why are the folks around her dropping like flies? Authors Oates and Mikulski (the U.S. senator from Maryland) know the ways of D.C. Rainmakers, charlatans and scavengers gnawing on the bones of Vietnam are neatly skewered. And though the MIA issue is somewhat pass, the story acquires plausibility and momentum.

— Robin Rice