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I don't read a lot of true crime; or rather, I don't read books labeled "true crime" very often. I've read several books about real-life murder mysteries, from the Lizzie Borden case to Karen Silkwood. I don't know too many true crime writers in person; when I worked on Bouchercon several years ago, I got to know a few. They are, shall we say, an interesting bunch (okay, Ann Rule is the major sweetheart in the crowd and trust me, I have good reason to say that). Nancy Pickard has practically reinvented herself as a mystery writer. I very much liked her Jenny Cain series and was rather surprised at last year's The Whole Truth which is quite a departure from a series featuring a woman who runs a foundation and her cop boyfriend/husband. Her new series features a true crime writer, Marie Lightfoot (we know only that this is a pen name, not why she chooses to use it). Lightfoot, as she explains to a reporter picks and chooses her subjects for various reasons, among them the setting. Bahia Beach is wealthy and glitzy. Boy, does that scene not interest me. Pickard chooses to show the writer in real life and then alternate with chapters of her work. In this book, she has just finished "Anything to Be Together" about a minister, Bob Wing, (ironically, a crusader against the death penalty) who has been convicted of killing his wife. His alleged lover, Artemis, was not convicted; the community thinks she helped, but the physical evidence simply was not there. Lightfoot's editor simply loves the book; Marie herself has very odd misgivings. In her re-telling of the story, she ties in a second murder, that of a young woman. The reason for the tie-in is that the man convicted of killing this woman was the focus of Wing's campaign. He wants to save the life of the man who, again ironically, is his neighbor now on death row. And while some things about Wing might not sound totally convincing, I did actually buy most of what he was about. If this sounds overly complex, it's not; it's enticingly complex. This is not exactly my kind of book in that well, I don't read about true crime, even books about true crime, if that makes any sense. And yet, Lightfoot's inquisitiveness and obvious intelligence overcome my dislike of her profession and of reading about "the real thing". I nominated The Whole Truth for a lot of "best novel" awards in 2000. I was very sure that the follow-up would not be as exciting. While I did figure out that one party was bad news early on, I was completely wrong about why that person felt wrong. And given that I read a few hundred mysteries a year, if you can still surprise me - and Pickard did more than once - that means in part that you've written a good book. This is more than just a good book; it's well-written, well-plotted, fast-paced and gives you just enough to think about, if you're the kind of reader who wants to guess the whodunit (I'm not). I always felt that Pickard deserved a lot more attention. I still do. Note: This review is based on the hardcover edition published in May 2001. http://www.drizzle.com/~roscoe - Stu & Andi's "The Roscoe Page" http://www.drizzle.com/~roscoe/tshirts.html - Original cartoon silk-screened t-shirts - some Sherlockian, Wodehousian & others still available. Check out the new 'Roscoe Store' pages at CafePress! We now have an assortment of imprinted items with original Stu Shiffman art: http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/store.aspx?s=roscoestore - "The Game's Afoot!" Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/store.aspx?s=roscoestore2 - "Nero Woof," a Funny Animal version of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe. "Rex Trout takes notes on Nero Woof". http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/store.aspx?s=Roscoestore3 - "I Love a History Mystery!" Ancient Roman detective. http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/store.aspx?s=Roscoestore4 - "I Love a History Mystery!" Medieval mysteries.
Reviewed by Andi Shechter, June 2001
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