THE DEATH OF BLUE MOUNTAIN CAT

by Michael Allen Dymmoch ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 11, 1996

A stuffy Chicago museum hosts a crowded opening for its latest exhibit. The guests include the artist's wife, his business manager, his former mentor, and, possibly, his most recent lover--in addition, of course, to Blue Mountain Cat himself, n‚ David Bisti, whose satirical faux-Navajo installations have outraged critics and provoked lawsuits. It's a perfect setup for the artist's death, and Dymmoch doesn't disappoint. But as John Thinnes, the cop heading the investigation, joins forces again with gay psychiatrist Jack Caleb, the case moves steadily away from Ngaio Marsh territory. Caleb's narcissistic new lover and his involvement with a local AIDS hospice, Thinnes's heavy-traffic encounter with the stupidest driver on earth and his trip downtown to release his teenaged son from arrest--each beautifully textured episode brings Caleb and Thinnes startlingly alive, though sometimes at the cost of the people they're supposed to be investigating. By the time Thinnes is ready to wrap up the case, it's the victim and the heroes, not the suspects, who've been turned inside out. Like Dymmoch's striking debut, The Man Who Understood Cats (1993), this sequel, despite its classic opening tableau, is less for puzzle buffs than for readers with an appetite for the different kinds of messes murder leaves behind.

Pub Date: April 11, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1996

Categories: FICTION