Brian, If you like Elmore Leonard you can't really lose. Even
his not so hot efforts are pretty good. I enjoyed Riding the
Rap, but the plot was quite a lot simpler than many of his
others.
I'll let you know what I think of the ending of A Grave
Talent in a few days.
Karin At 06:14 AM 10/06/2004 -0700, Brian Thornton
wrote:
>Hi Karin-
>
>> Even more recently, I whipped through Elmore
Leonard's Riding the Rap
>(1995), a fairly typical one of his in which a U.S.
marshall outwits some
>none-too-swift miscreants. He's a good character, and
so is the psychic who
>helps the bad guys, but it wasn't
spectacular.
>
>I just finished CUBA LIBRE (also a historical) by him
not too long ago.
>Loved it. Would you recommend RIDING THE RAP? I've
already read both GET
>SHORTY and MAXIMUM BOB. Got TISHOMINGO BLUES, PRONTO,
and THE BIG BOUNCE in
>the TBR pile.
>
>> Right now I'm getting to the end of a Kate
Martinelli mystery, the first,
>by Laurie R. King: A Grave Talent (1993). Kate is a
detective in the San
>Jose police department trying to track down a serial
killer of six-year-old
>girls. She's a lesbian who thinks coming out of the
closet will damage her
>career, so her private life, while closely guarded
from other officers, is
>another story element. This isn't strictly speaking a
police procedural--a
>lot of technical details are glossed over--but the
case is being solved by
>good solid police work: lots of interviews, timing
tests and logic. I have
>to force myself to put it down after lunch and get
back to work. I've got
>another Martinelli waiting. I read a much more recent
one last year, Night
>Work, that was very good. King also writes a series
featuring Mary Russell
>and her mentor, Sherlock Holmes, which I have been
avoiding, but which get
>good reviews from those who like that sort of
thing.
>
>I read A GRAVE TALENT a few years back, and thought
the writing was very
>good, but the dead children aspect of it left me
pretty cold (I teach middle
>school, so call it an occupational hazard, I
suppose). I also found the end
>less than satisfying. Would like your take on it once
you're finished,
>don't want to spoil it for you, though!;)
>
>I haven't read the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes
"collaborations," even
>though I went through an avid Holmes phase as a
teenager.
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