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This book reassures me that we got out in time; I lived in the Boston area (somewhere near Carlotta's house, for a while, I think) for five years and left in the fall of 2000; a year before the Big Dig began. It's now late 2002 and if you read the papers (and Barnes' book) you'll know it's a project that has gone so far over budget and despite its many tunnels, there doesn't appear to be a light in any of them. Poor Boston - I hope it's worth it. Carlotta's actually working for someone else for a change, not directly for her client. Any public works project will have its problems - fraud, theft, no-show workers, sub-par materials, and Carlotta's been sort of roaming around, trying to catch wrong-doers for Happy Eddie Conklin, a former cop now working for a big security firm. Carlotta's undercover, seeking out fraud on various worksites; rumors and reports of everything from equipment theft to dirt being stolen (there are several possible explanations of that one). And then a worker on the site dies, in a classic "did he fall or was he pushed?" And there are some intriguing folks on this work site, and some odd behavior. At the same time, she's looking for a sort of, maybe, missing person. A wealthy woman's tenant disappeared, with her car. The tenant had permission but Veejay's been gone for several days, didn't go to visit her parents like she said she was going to, and she's usually reliable, so what happened? Fans of the series will see some changes, and I applaud Barnes for her story-telling. Not only is her "little sister" Paolina growing up, but she's heading for trouble; while this has always been a good side story, I admire that the author isn't writing happily ever after stories, but is dealing with reality in a modern teenager. And then there's Sam; Carlotta tries to keep away from Sam Gianelli, which has never been easy. Now it would seem to be necessary, as Sam's father is ailing, which means that his son, who's always gone straight, might be taking over for, well, the "family" business. And Carlotta does not want that in her life. It was worth waiting for. The Big Dig is the long awaited new book in the Carlotta Carlyle series and it's oh, so good. The mystery is unexpected in some ways, the writing is superior and engaging and we fans of the tall red-haired Cambridge private eye have been rewarded for our patience.
Reviewed by Andi Shechter, November 2002
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