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don't read too many straight police procedurals; the police-oriented mysteries I most like are those by Steven Havill, Susannah Stacy, Frances Fyfield, Tony Hillerman or Margaret Maron -- police dramas to be sure, but often social dramas as well. For some reason, I found myself seeing Six-Pound Walleye in terms of a "Hill Street Blues" script or an "NYPD Blue" storyline; I thought that this mystery was very visual, with some good background and a great hostage scene. I believe it was written with an eye toward Hollywoodization - and I don't know if that's bad or good. Jake Hines is an excellent police officer, but I did not like him at all. His way of dealing with personal issues stinks big-time and he's a jerk in personal relationships. Professionally, he is trying to solve a bizarre killing of small boy who was shot, apparently for no reason. No one saw it happen, although the boy was surrounded by people. Jake is savvy and knows how to delegate to his officers, how to work with people and keep his temper in check. He has a history as a foster child, apparently is of mixed parentage (which is not really defined although there are hints and he's called the "n-word" by one jerk) and knows how to deal with people in a variety of ways. Also in this story is a major fight at the high school which involves the police chief's son, a fight that escalates at one point to the above-mentioned hostage shootout. Gunn excels at describing action; her dialogue is crisp (although at times, repetitive as the cops repeat what we already know, either from earlier dialogue or description). The setting, Rutherford, Minnesota, leads to discussions of Seasonal Affective Disorder and ice-fishing.Ý The side story of Jake being ordered to organize a retirement party for a hard-drinking cop is wasted on me. It just never fit and while again, I see it as a part of a minor theme for the television show, I could have done without it. Further, I really could have done without Jake's live-in lover, Trudy, who seems to be a doormat and a total idiot (or doesn't mind being treated as one). Jake, who manages to elicit witnesses' statements and the slightest little bit of body language, ignores Trudy, essentially telling her "you don't mean that" when she says things, and when she won't agree with him about feeding a dog that she does not like, storms out of the house and gets drunk. He doesn't seem to get that Trudy might have opinions and choices, but pushes her into agreeing with him -- either by using sex or just bulling through, deciding what was wrong with her and informing her of it. I thought he was a shmuck about it all. That it all worked out to his satisfaction irked me; he needs to pay a lot more attention to Trudy and while his attention to some children at the end of the book is admirable, it doesn't make amends for his borderline abusive, arrogant, macho behavior with the woman he is living with. One final note; this is a series with one of those theme titles. Starting with Triple Play, each book has a number. It's a stretch. While moderating a panel at a convention, I brought up to one author the theme he used and asked about the animal in that particular book. It was a great story; he'd proposed the animal to his publisher and then had forgotten, adding it in the last scene. That stretch is exactly how it felt to me about ensuring the "walleye", the pike, of the title was included.Ý Verdict: fans of police procedurals will enjoy this book. The police stuff is well-paced and interesting; the investigative work clicks and the cops are drawn well and fully. But I just couldn't warm to Lieutenant Jake Hines. NOTE: This review is based on the hard cover edition, published by Walker and Company in June 2001. 
Reviewed by Andi Shechter, June 2001
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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