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ONE OF US, the final novel by the late Jane Haddam, features Gregor Demarkian, the former FBI agent and police consultant who has appeared in her twenty-nine previous books. In the small, tight knit Armenian community where the semi-retired detective lives with his wife Bennis and their newly arrived foster child Javier, everyone knows everyone. A delightful rescue dog named Pickles is an important part of Javier's life. The dog is dressed in sweaters and booties of different colors and fed bacon by the sweet but non-English speaking child.
But his neighborhood is now surrounded by other ethnic enclaves, including a Spanish area which seems to harbor many illegal immigrants. The arrival of ICE officers is a constant fear in the streets here, as well as in the local parish church where many of the immigrants worship.
A black van has been seen cruising the area, and folks are nervous. On an icy evening, the van skids, its back door flies open, and a garbage bag flies out. A battered woman with no ID is in the bag, and though she is not dead yet her life is hanging by a thread. Gregor is called in to consult, although he has retired. Eventually nuns at the local parish church, St. Catherine's, recognize her photo. She is Marta Warkowski, a constant but anonymous presence at mass. We have met her in the Prologue, as she is one of the few white people living in a building that houses mainly Hispanic immigrants. The super of the building, Hernandez, has been trying to get rid of her because she occupies a very large apartment that he would like to give to a bigger family. Because of his harassment, she has sued the building owner, shady entrepreneur Cary Alder, on several occasions. She has become a real pain for him and he is afraid the bad publicity she creates will enable investigators to look more closely at his illegal financial operations—as well as his possible involvement with trafficking of illegal immigrants.
When police go to inspect her apartment, they discover a body. Gregor must work with two police officers—who are reluctant to have him involved—to figure out who the murderer is, who has put Marta in the garbage bag, and what is going on with Cary Alder, who seems to be involved with all of this. This is a compelling read, with many of the characters intricately drawn and with intriguing and unique inner lives. And then there is the rescue dog Pickles, who is an important part of Javier's life.
For the readers of her previous work, this last Gregor Demarkian case would have many familiar characters and references to a back story that they would know. For the new reader, there are difficulties in fully understanding who the people surrounding Gregor are to him and to each other. A character named Russ, who is in prison, is important to the story, but it is never clear what his relationship might have been to Gregor and why, as is mentioned, he shot Gregor in the face. Providing the information a reader needs when reading about a character with a long history is crucial. The writer needs to supply this information in a way that the avid reader does not find repetitive. In this case, Haddam seems to be writing to the readers of her previous works. The response to not knowing what has happened previously is of course to go back and read the novels from the start. ONE OF OUR OWN is an engaging, well-written tale, and would definitely encourage that approach in order to better understand Gregor's life and relationships.
§ Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, December 2020
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