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JANUARY - FEBRUARY REVIEWS
ANATOMY
OF FEAR
And what we got in ANATOMY OF FEAR by Jonathan Santlofer is a competent, fast-moving and entertaining serial killer novel illustrated by Santlofer’s own sketches. Nate Rodriguez is an NYPD forensic sketch artist with an uncanny knack for capturing near-perfect likenesses of predators based on nothing more than instinct and a few clues from victims and witnesses. Nate is so good at what he does that the rumor on the force is he’s psychic. Nate himself isn’t so sure, although his grandmother, a practitioner of Santeria, keeps urging him to trust his visions – before it’s too late. Nate makes a very likable protagonist; a well-drawn -- if you will -- character. Half-Jewish, half-Puerto Rican, he’s struggling to come to terms with his cop father’s death many years earlier, and his own reluctance for “real” police work. This reluctance to become involved wars with Nate’s fascination with a case where the serial killer is leaving drawings of his victims; it all feels genuine – as does his growing attraction to tough chick cop Terri Russo. Characters and their relationships are definitely Santlofer’s strength. The plot itself is serviceable, and
Santlofer does a good job depicting a As for the artwork? While the numerous pencil sketches certainly did not detract from the story, I can’t say that they particularly enhanced it. My instinct is that they provide a crutch Santlofer needs to toss away in order to develop and hone his writing. More original choices would strengthen what is clearly a natural instinct for storytelling. GHOST OF A CHANCE THE
REMAINS OF THE DEAD
The protagonist in Roberts’ THE REMAINS OF THE DEAD is Sadie Novak, a Look at it this way, it pays better than exorcising haunted houses and sending troublesome spirits and entities into the Akasha does – which is how Karma Marx, the also Washington-based and much put-upon heroine of GHOST OF A CHANCE pays the bills. But in some ways Sadie and Karma are very alike. Professional women with a strong sense of ethics and integrity – hey, ghost busting is still work -- they both share secret sorrows: Sadie’s beloved brother committed suicide, and Karma bears the guilt of causing the death of a childhood playmate. They both have eccentric and exasperating families – extended and otherwise; they both have trouble finding jeans that fit properly and decent men to date. Actually, Karma is married. Sort of. It’s hard to believe that an intelligent person would remain trapped for twelve years in a loveless marriage with someone as loathsome as “Spider,” but I guess if we’re going to believe that multi-limbed poltergeists mingle unseen among us on a daily basis, we can accept that Karma can’t figure a way out of her dreadful marriage. Luckily, someone solves the problem for her when Karma, Spider, and several others are locked by supernatural means into a house she’s supposed to be exorcising. Karma has twelve hours to solve the murder of her no good husband or face arrest herself. Sadie, on the other hand, merely dates potential murderers and villains – and that’s pretty much normal for most of us, right? In fact, Sadie and THE REMAINS OF THE DEAD is centered much more firmly in the material plane – and, in fairness, some of the materials mentioned are liable to turn a few tummies. If you’re a fan of the CSI franchise, you probably won’t mind the occasionally graphic descriptions; after all, Sadie and her crew clean up crime scenes. We’re not talking dusting away the fingerprints. The crime scene of Grant and Judy Toth’s murder-suicide, for example, is not exactly the stuff of cozy mysteries. But reality collides with woo-woo as Sadie mops up the gore and tries to make small talk with Trudy’s mute and desperate spirit. Trudy accepts that she is dead, but she insists that Grant didn’t kill her – and she wants Sadie to do something about it. Despite the woo-woo trappings, Roberts
follows basic mystery and sleuthing procedure in THE
REMAINS OF THE DEAD and, although the mystery is pretty slight, it makes for
a superior story. Marsh leans heavily on world-building and paranormal funnies
– the sleuthing is more transparent than Granted, it’s a difficult thing, a tricky balance to mix humor and the morbid – it takes a very delicate touch, and neither writer quite masters it on this first outing. On the positive side, both books offer a couple of genuine twists at the end of their stories, and in each case I was truly caught by surprise. If you enjoy a touch of the macabre with your mystery, check out Wendy Roberts’ THE REMAINS OF THE DEAD and GHOST OF A CHANCE by Kate Marsh. - D. L. Browne D. L. Browne is a person of many
talents. For an explanation of the music sheet logo, Click Here D. L. Browne's e mail address is |
