Charlaine Harris reading at Torcon 2003
ISBN: 0-312-26228-0 Order from: Amazon.com
A solid mystery, with a likable protagonist in a small town, advancing her personal development while solving a crime.
Reviewed by David on December 25, 2000
Genre: Mystery (Amateur Sleuth, Suspense)
Synopsis: Lily Bard has learned to live by herself in Shakespeare, since the crime that scarred her physically and emotionally. Stronger physically and more assured of her place, she is forming a lasting, and sometimes painfully intense emotional bonds with her boyfriend, the private investigator Jack. While cleaning people's houses for living, Lily frequently (this is fiction) stumbles upon the ugly detritus of murder.
This time, while the police are going through the motions of investigation, Lily's powers of observation and the attention to minutiae that a janitor brings keep pointing out minor mysteries in the victim's apartment. As the murderer becomes desperate, other people in the small town come under threat, and Lily's intellectual pursuit becomes a matter of life and death.
Full Review:
Charlaine Harris reading at Torcon 2003
Harris, the author of the Alice Teagarden mysteries, introduced Lily Bard, the young woman who came to the Arkansas town of Shakespeare to forget her painful past in Shakespeare's Landlord. Lily, the protagonist, is more assured, and this allows the plot to concentrate more detection and Lily's uneasy progress towards a permanent relationship with Jack, and less on Lily's emotional scars. The mystery is solid, with small, nagging clues, red herrings, and even tensions with the police. The climax is suitably tense, and the resolution of the mystery feels satisfying.
This is another good addition to the series, with a good protagonist, well-crafted mystery, and enough personal development for balance. One looks forward to many more Lily Bard mysteries from the author.
Overall: 6; Plot: 6; Characters: 6; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5.5; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 2000, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Minotaur), August 2000, Cloth, 227 pages
ISBN: 0-312-26228-0 Order from: Amazon.com