"Delicious amateur sleuth tale"
In Syracuse, Noah's Ark sells exotic pets, but the owner
Robin Light fails to make enough money to pay her taxes. If
she does not come up with some cash soon, she will be
forced to declare bankruptcy. Robin moonlights as a private
detective, but is so desperately strapped for income, she
accepts two cases simultaneously. The first case involves a fifteen-year-old runaway whose
parents want her home. In her quest to find Bethany, Robin
visits a cemetery, a tattoo parlor, and a Goth concert. Her
other assignment involves wealthy Rose Taylor, whose
children want Robin to debunk psychic Pat Humphrey. In the
course of this investigation someone punches Robin in the
jaw, someone shoots at her, and a knife is placed against
her throat. While engulfed in both inquiries, Robin wonders
if bankruptcy might prove the better alternative. Barbara Block knows how to write an action-packed private
detective novel that turns into a strong urban Noir
centering on the Upstate New York city of Syracuse. The
heroine is quite a sleuth and readers will want her as a
friend who hopefully will revisits the audience with her
next adventures. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 6, 2001
|
