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BURIED DREAMS
by Brendan DuBois
Thomas Dunne Books, July 2004
272 pages
$23.95
ISBN: 0312327315


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

What is it that Brendan DuBois does so well? What intrigues me so much in his Lewis Cole series? Is it Cole's background, a history that makes him understandably paranoid, protective of his privacy (often because he has no choice, he signed this agreement, if you will, with the government), so determined to watch out for his friends? Is it that DuBois manages not to treat Tyler Beach, New Hampshire, as a small town, typical 'hotbed of intrigue and gossip' -- the sort of perspective that causes me to want to fling many small-town mysteries across the room?

Cole is more introspective than many detective protagonists, but it's not navel-gazing, 'I have a theory about the world' self-centered thinking. He just tends to, as his friend Felix Tinios points out, think about everything before acting.

When Jon Ericson, a local character and area historian is found shot dead, it bothers Cole a lot; Felix, not exactly the most introspective guy around but certainly one of the most entertaining retired (mostly) villains in fiction, risks suggesting to his friend Lewis that Jon might have been a father figure to him. (I gotta admit, I'm worried at how much I enjoy reading about Felix; this is not good. The guy's a former mobster, a killer, armed and dangerous and not my type of guy at all. But he sure is interesting.)

And Cole can't leave it alone, despite the requests of his friend Diana, Tyler Beach's sole detective, to stay away and leave this one to the cops. With Felix's assistance, Cole investigates; in doing so, he confronts Ray Ericson, Jon's ex-con, ne'er-do-well brother and Cole crosses a line between what's acceptable behavior and what's not.

Lewis' loyalty to people and his determination to figure himself and others out make him really worthwhile spending time with. I admit that I simply did not buy the resolution to this puzzle; I thought the reasoning, the why of the whodunit and the who did not work; not enough background, not enough it just wasn't plausible for me.

But much of the rest of the book operates on subtleties and levels of friendship and concern and caring all of which matter. Lewis' best friend is a lesbian, he enjoys the company of a former mob guy, he likes meeting new people, Ericson was an older man with whom he had solid interesting conversations. This is good stuff and it's largely what makes me read each book in this series where the setting and character always shine; in this instance, however, the plot didn't quite work. You know though, I'll read the next one, and maybe when I read BURIED DREAMS again, it'll work better.

Reviewed by Andi Shechter, August 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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