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Molly Blume is a true crime writer and a freelance reporter on the crime scene. She assembles odd and unusual crimes for the local independent throwaway. Her curiosity is piqued by an odd crime up near Lookout Mountain in Los Angeles. A woman in a nightgown was badly injured by a hit-and-run driver late one night. The woman, Lenore Saunders, lived over two miles away so the first question was why she would be wandering in that neighborhood in her nightgown. Molly cannot just write this up for the paper and leave it. Then, when Lenore dies, an apparent suicide, she becomes even more obsessed with finding out what actually happened. Mollyís voice is refreshing. It is funny without being smart-aleck and wisecracking. While I enjoy the ěsmart-assî sleuths, I get a bit tired of all that irrelevance. It is refreshing to read about a woman who loves her family, spends time with them, and takes time off to celebrate religious holidays. She is not a loner walking those mean streets. She is part of a larger whole and that makes her a better woman. Nonetheless this is hardly a cozy. Although the violence takes place off stage, there is an edge to the novel, a perception of evil, of corruption, of deceit. Order is not completely restored by the end of this book even though all the ends are tied up. Integral to the book is Judaism, the Orthodox variety that requires its adherents to follow basic laws. That does not mean a reader must be Jewish to understand and enjoy this book. It is a story that will appeal to all sorts of people. But the Jewish law and world view make up the cornerstone of the story and Molly is unabashedly a religious woman. It is not a flagrant display or a demand that you or I must follow suit, but simply a fundamental part of her life. Within the book is a collection of intriguing and colorful characters, not least of whom is Mollyís grandmother, Bubbie G. Bubbie G has a Yiddish saying for every occasion and it is great fun to see her take on the situation. She is usually right too. Then there is Jake, the young rabbi who had been one of Mollyís brief loves in high school but who now may be more than that. Always haunting her is Mollyís friend Aggie who had been murdered some years before. I hope we hear that story one day. The book takes place in Los Angeles, a favorite location of crime writers. Ms. Krich does an outstanding job of setting the place and putting the readers into it. And she has made as her own Jewish Los Angeles, an extremely interesting place to visit. The plot is complex and intricate, weaving red herrings and possible solutions in and out until the very end. One of the threads deals with postpartum depression and psychosis, and we learn about more that phenomenon. What is truth? we must constantly ask ourselves and sometimes truth seems to be in the shifting sands. But the denouement is satisfying and complete and concludes a very enjoyable book. I recommend it highly.
Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, September 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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