WHODUNIT?

REVIEWS BY BRUCE TIERNEY

Mysteries with a twist

I heard this joke in Turkey last week, and it was too good not to share:

Q: How many crime writers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Only one, but he has to give it a good twist at the end.

This month's books definitely meet that standard.

You might remember the line about a newly acquired tattoo from Jimmy Buffett's classic '70s tune, "Margaritaville." After a self-described "hell of a night," Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl will identify with Buffett's experience more than most. Awakening with a stinging pain in his chest, Carl discovers (to his immense surprise and chagrin) a classic-style tattoo, a heart and flowers, entwined by a banner emblazoned with the name "Chantal Adair." Yikes! It has been a strange couple of weeks for Carl by any measure. He has taken a case in which, if all goes according to plan, a stolen Rembrandt will be returned to a suburban Philadelphia museum, and a career criminal will receive immunity in time to visit his dying mother. The plan, however, is about to be hopelessly derailed. Clearly, for instance, the tattoo is not part of the plan. And who on earth is Chantal Adair? William Lashner's Marked Man is number six in the popular series featuring the charmingly corruptible (perhaps the politically correct term is "ethically challenged") Victor Carl. Not a legal thriller in the Grisham/Turow sense, Marked Man is rather more along the lines of an Elmore Leonard novel, populated with colorful characters, an engaging (albeit flawed) protagonist and snappy dialogue to punctuate the offbeat storyline.


An angel of death

Erica Spindler's Copycat offers up one of the more original premises for a suspense novel in recent memory: Five years ago, three young girls from three separate families were strangled in their own beds, with their parents asleep just down their respective halls. The bodies were arranged precisely, and the serial murderer, known as the Sleeping Angel Killer, was never caught. Fast-forward to 2006: A young girl is found dead in her bed, strangled, just like those other young girls five years before. Well, not just like, because some of the details don't quite ring true. These small discrepancies are nonetheless enough to pique the interest of veteran investigator Kitt Lundgren, who nearly caught the killer the first time around. Then Lundgren gets the surprise of her career: a call from the Sleeping Angel Killer, who claims he is not responsible for this latest killing; in fact, he is irate that someone would copy his "perfect" crimes. And, if he is to be believed, he wants to help the police catch this copycat killer. Spindler's characters are strong and conflicted (internally and with one another), the storyline is relentlessly gripping and the pacing is nigh on to perfection. Oh, and there are a couple of pretty slick twists, as well.


Sins of the fathers

Heart of the World, Linda Barnes' 11th novel featuring Boston PI Carlotta Carlyle, finds the willowy detective hip-deep in a missing-persons case with very personal implications. Her "little sister," a Latina teenager named Paolina, has gone missing. This would be bad enough under normal circumstances, but Paolina is the biological daughter of legendary Colombian drug lord Carlos Roldan Gonzales, and there is the very real possibility that she has been a) "custodially" kidnapped by her estranged father, or b) abducted by one of his many enemies. Paolina has figured in several of the Carlyle mysteries, and her character, always complex and involving, has matured over the past few books. Carlyle is still involved with Sam Gianelli, a somewhat reluctant mobster with strong family ties. Their relationship has been bumpy, but Sam is a handy man to have in your corner when you need an unlicensed gun or some musclemen in Bogotá. Before she is finished, Carlyle will pay a visit to the war-torn countryside of Colombia, in search of revolutionaries, drug lords and Paolina, not necessarily in that order. Barnes is at the top of her form with Heart of the World. The novel is both a cracking suspense yarn and an in-depth look at a country that has been plagued for decades by drugs, corruption, the CIA and virtually any other pestilence you care to name. P.S.: Fans of the cliff-hanger ending will eagerly await the next installment of the series to see which of the men in Carlyle's life will win her heart.


MYSTERY OF THE MONTH

While ruminating over which books to review for this month's column, I happened to glance at the back cover of Daniel Judson's The Darkest Place. In bright yellow letters was an endorsement from mystery writer Robert Crais (a longtime favorite of mine), who ended his blurb with "To Mr. Judson I say, 'Well done, sir.' " Similar accolades from G.M. Ford and S.J. Rozan, two more favorites, sealed the deal: I was going to read this book. Simply put, The Darkest Place is one of the most riveting novels I have read in quite some time. It demands to be read in one sitting, and I acceded to that demand.

Several young men have been found in the water off Long Island, drowned in the frigid midwinter sea. The first one looked like an accident, or possibly suicide, but by the time the second and third bodies are found, there is little doubt in anyone's mind that a serial killer is at work. The family of one of the boys hires detective Reggie Clay to determine the cause of death; they are devout Catholics, and they want to be able to bury their son without the stigma of possible suicide. Attention quickly focuses on local college professor Deacon Kane, a onetime well-known author who has settled into obscurity in the Hamptons. Kane is a tortured soul; his only son died in an accidental drowning some years before, and Kane has never completely recovered. He is in a no-win affair with a married socialite, and he has more than a passing affection for the bottle. And he can't seem to remember where he was or what he was doing on the nights that the boys met their watery demises. Kane teams up with a detective, a bookseller, a professor and a strange exotic girl to try to prove his innocence; problem is, one or more of them will try equally hard to frame Kane for the crimes. Judson has written a page-turner of the first order, densely populated with dark characters, a couple of begrudging protagonists and a class-act villain. Oh, and the twist? I never saw it coming.


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