|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Eve Diamond suddenly finds herself dealing with babies everywhere she turns. She is shadowing a US Customs agent at Los Angeles airport when the usual post-deplaning pandemonium is exacerbated by gunfire, leaving three people dead and a toddler orphaned. While trying to track down the whereabouts of this child, who has in some inexplicable way connected with her at an intense sub-conscious level, Eve runs into babies every time she turns around. While dining with a high-powered human-rights lawyer at a trendy restaurant, she finds out that the restaurant owners are in the process of adopting an Oriental child, who may or may not be the toddler from LAX. While pursuing the whereabouts of this child, whose name Eve doesn't even know until about halfway into the book (and it may or may not be her real name), Eve is herself pursued by people who don't have her best interests, or those of the child, at heart. Eve's life is threatened. People she meets while following various leads are also put in harm's way. Eve encounters some very interesting characters in LAST LULLABY, which seems to be a typical circumstance for her. There are sub-plots connected with some characters, and plots which eventually weave their way into the wholeness of this book without seeming disjointed or forced. Of course, Eve's personal life isn't on hold while she is working this story. The old boyfriend Tim turns up, further complicating an already complex relationship with Silvio, the man she isn't supposed to be seeing until after they have both testified in/about the case which brought them together. Eve has managed, until now, to avoid dealing with most of the fall-out from her break-up with Tim. Silvio's resentment and hurt force her to confront feelings she has managed to avoid for a long time, force her to face what her heart has been telling her. Again, this is not an easy scenario, made more difficult by an unexpected complication which will surprise very few readers. This is Denise Hamilton's third Eve Diamond story. Hamilton writes in the tradition of Paretsky, with a harder edge. She is a talented writer with an eye for detail, the ability to sketch in a paragraph or two a character who will stick in one's mind, and the kind of plotting skills which keep readers up way past their bedtimes. If you haven't read JASMINE TRADE or SUGAR SKULL, I recommend them both, although you don't really need to read this series in order for each book to make sense. If you like strong female characters, a bit of noir, and a good story, you should enjoy Ms Hamilton's works. I plan to track down JASMINE TRADE, which I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet, and hope to see many more books with Denise Hamilton's name on the cover.
Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, March 2004
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 ]
| 
