ISBN: 0-7887-0031-6 Order from: Recorded Books
A book with a number oftense moments but suffering from intrusively implausible twists and an overly fatalistic tone.
Reviewed by David on January 03, 2004
Genre: Mystery (Private Investigator)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Night Secrets.
Frank Clemons, a former policeman in Atlanta, has been burned by life. Now a private detective in New York, he is battling depression.
When a client comes into his seedy office, Frank reluctantly takes the case. The rich, older husband wants Frank to follow his pretty young wife to find out the source of her preoccupation. The cause seems painfully obvious, and Frank follows the young woman looking for evidence of a love affair.
In the meanwhile, a murder of a fortune-teller a few streets away captures Frank's imagination. The suspect, a beautiful young Gypsy, confesses, but Frank is not satisfied.
The two investigations continue, with complications arising in both. Finally, both turn out to be surprising, and offering some glimpses of redemption through pain and tragedy.
Full Review: The author here shows real skill in places, but it's stifled by many implausible turns and the fatalistic tone of the narration. The main character, Frank, starts as a noir-ish stereotype, burned out and cynical. While he finds a passion to lift him out of the depression, the cause seems both capricious and implausible. The dark, fatalistic monologues are interspersed with melodramatic actions. Frank's friend Farouk seems more appropriate to Dumas' romantic novels than a true character.
In the end of the flawed book, the reader is left with a vague sense of frustration.
Overall: 4.5; Plot: 5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 4.5; World-building: 5; Originality: 5.5;
Copyright date 1990, Recorded Books, 1994, Audio cassette, 7 cassettes
ISBN: 0-7887-0031-6 Order from: Recorded Books