About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

OPEN SEASON ON LAWYERS
by Taffy Cannon
Perseverance Press, April 2002
288 pages
$13.95
ISBN: 1880284510


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Someone is killing the sleazy lawyers of Los Angeles and the police are not especially unhappy about it. Of course, they have to try and catch the killer, but often, they feel, the lawyers have deserved punishment. It is very hard not to sympathize with the murderer in this book.

Detective Joanna Davis and her partner head the Robbery-Homicide task force that is chasing this killer. Davis is a captivating and distinctive protagonist. She is 52 years old, a mother and a grandmother, twice divorced but friendly (and still in love) with her first husband. She is strong but compassionate. She knows how to handle herself in situations that put her in danger, but she also knows how to assemble and understand disparate pieces of information to solve crimes. Her family worries about her and she is careful not to take risks herself if at all possible. She would make a powerful protagonist for a series and I hope that happens.

The other characters are well developed and convincing also. Even the killer, whom we meet (by nickname) early on, is believable and authentic. He is methodical. He has planned the murders well. He intends to walk away at the end and go live in a cabin in the wilderness and there are times throughout this book when we hope he makes it. The two antagonists dominate the events of the story although there is a very able supporting cast.

The story flows. The writing is lucid and crisp. Throughout the book are descriptions which make the setting come alive for the reader. This story is completely grounded in Los Angeles and Ms. Cannon is very effective in capturing the city that ordinary people, like you and I, know and perhaps live in. The glitz of Hollywood is hinted at; it would be hard to write about Los Angeles without doing so. The corruption of the police is alluded to as well. But this is the L.A. of transplanted Midwesterners living in small houses along sunny streets with lemon and orange trees in their back yards. Or elderly widows living in slowly decaying apartment houses in neighborhoods that are no longer quite safe.

This suspense novel is well plotted and we alternately follow the police trying to uncover the identity of the killer and stop more killings and the killer carefully planning his next crimes. The breaks for the police come when ordinary people realize that something they saw was erroneous and when the police believe them and act upon that information. I suspect that is how most crimes get solved. The ending is exciting and compelling. This was a difficult book to put down even for a minute.

By whatever criteria you wish to use, this is a very good book indeed. It is one of the best I have read in the last few months and I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, February 2002

This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]