Even more than in previous frothy capers, Dunnett's taciturn, super-cool hero Johnson Johnson (portrait-painter/secret-agent) takes a back seat to a quirky female narrator: this time it's punk-haired, tough little Rita Geddes, a Scottish makeup artist—and a protege of Hollywood's legendary, about-to-retire Kim-Jim Curtis. (He's part of a make-up man dynasty a la Westmore.) Thanks to Kim-Jim, Rita gets a lush job as private make-upper to celebrity-journalist Natalie Sheridan on the isle of Madeira. But the new job soon sours: Rita is attacked by Natalie's erstwhile lover Roger van Diemen, a dope-addict/dealer who's jealous of Natalie's liaison with Kim-Jim; then dear Kim-Jim is dead at Natalie's villa—an apparent suicide but really a murder victim. The obvious suspect? The now-vanished van Diemen, who's part of a drug-ring which Johnson Johnson (a quiet bystander thus far) is trailing. So, though Rita is sure that Johnson's "a poof and a bastard," the two team up to avenge Kim-Jim—heading for the West Indies, where the drug-ring seems to be centered. . . and where Kim-Jim's various, nasty relatives live. And, after some gory violence, an ordeal-at-sea, and reliable sailing action (the Doily of the title is Johnson's yacht, you'll remember), the full extent of the drug-dealing conspiracy is revealed—along with some related secrets about narrator Rita herself. . . who hasn't been playing fair with the reader. As usual, then, Dunnett doesn't offer a very convincing or satisfying plot; the pacing is uncertain—first draggy, then frantic; and some of the oblique comedy (e.g., Rita's cute hatred for Johnson) is merely precious. But fans of the frou-frou-style English mystery (modeled on Allingham, not Sayers, Marsh, or Christie) will again find much to enjoy—in the arched-eyebrow dialogue, the glittery international backgrounds, and the undeniable singularity of combative heroine Rita.
Pub Date: March 7, 1984
ISBN: 0394729269
Page Count: 315
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1984
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
© Copyright 2026 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.
