Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page Four of FourThe Witchfinder by Loren D. Estleman
Mysterious Press, May 1998.Hardcover, 306 pages.
ISBN: 0892966637.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Wisecracking, hardboiled private eye
Amos Walker is back in this eighth
adventure by Loren D. Estleman.
In this latest installment, Amos is hired
by dying millionaire architect Jay Bell
Furling to find the
"Witchfinder," a seventeenth-century New
England term used to describe a bearer of
false witness who was usually paid very well
for telling some specific lies. The Witchfinder
in this case is the person who engineered
Furlong's breakup with his then-fiancée by giving
Furlong a fake picture of his fiancée in a compromising
position with another man. Although the photograph in
question is over 20 years old, as soon as Amos starts
investigating it strange things begin to happen, including
violence and sudden death. Plunged into Detroit's mean
streets to solve an old puzzle with current ramifications,
Amos meets characters ranging from the doyennes of Detroit
society to the those who inhabit the very bottom of the
city's social life.
Loren D. Estleman is a master of the classic hardboiled detective genre. Amos is an intriguing soul who has the cynical outlook on life you might expect from such a loner, but whose perspective is always wry and amusing. His narrative, told in a style reminiscent of Raymond Chandler is sure to keep fans of the classic detective story glued to the pages. An excellent story, well-told.
--Claire E. White
Sweet Poison by William Relling, Jr.
Walker& Co., June 1998.Hardcover, 230 pages.
ISBN: 0802733166.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Retired BATF agent and private investigator
Jack Donne is enjoying his life as a vineyard
owner in central California when a friend's
desperate request drags him back into the
p.i. business. Vineyard owner Ray Taylor
is playing host to the annual meeting of
the exclusive and renowned North American
Epicurean Society (NAMES) with the hope that
he will be asked to join the august society, which
numbers only 57. This year's guest speaker is
much hated and feared food critic
Augustus Poole, whose spitefulness is exceeded only
by his avoirdupois. Poole believes his life is in
danger and demands a bodyguard and a bottle
of the coveted 1947 Chateau D'Yquem in order
to attend. Donne is pressed into service and has
his hands full when a murder occurs right in the
middle of the conference and the obnoxious
Poole decides to investigate, attempting to imitate
the manner of another hefty detective, Nero Wolfe.
Sweet Poison is an entertaining foray into the world of wine and food with savvy investigator Donne and the obnoxious Poole forming an Odd Couple duo whose interactions are always amusing. The characterizations are witty and ring true, and the insights into running a winery are interesting, making this a welcome addition to the growing culinary mystery subgenre.
Return to the August 1998 issue of The IWJ.
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