Delightful, ghostly interactions help this novel transcend its bare-bones plot.
A homicide detective in the cold case division gets an edge when the ghost of a cop offers his assistance in Moats’ (Eulogy for Murder, 2016, etc.) lighthearted thriller.
After Detroit detective Russ Baker fails to thwart a ring of murderous thieves, he gets a demotion that puts him down in a basement full of cold case files. He’s all alone down there until he meets Detective Wesley “Wes” Loomis, who’s now a ghost after his corrupt partner shot him dead. Wes says that a man from “the dark place”—which he surmises is somewhere between heaven and hell—has enlisted him to help Russ. He can read minds and converse with other ghosts, which proves to be beneficial for closing old cases (and allowing lingering spirits to move on). Of course, Russ has to keep his new partner a secret because no one else can see or hear him, so he attributes the sudden breaks in unsolved cases to an unnamed source. Russ’ success so impresses his captain that he gives the detective an open case involving four murdered women, the victims of a probable serial killer. Preventing a fifth killing, however, won’t be easy, as Wes inexplicably can’t contact the victims’ spirits. Moats’ short, often jaunty tale has very few scenes of violence or instances of profanity. Humor, however, is in abundance; for example, Russ’ discussions with Wes often seem to others like he’s talking to himself. At other times, Russ worries about Wes’ persistent presence, especially when a woman invites herself to his house. There’s little to the actual mystery, though; pinpointing the guilty party doesn’t take long, and even Russ, as the narrator, acknowledges that Wes does most of the heavy lifting. Also, some descriptions are overly sparse; at one point, for example, the partners drop in on a suspect businessman who’s described only as a man “seated at his large desk.”
Delightful, ghostly interactions help this novel transcend its bare-bones plot.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-692-67789-6
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Magic 1 Productions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
