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Diana Gordon was a private investigator in San Francisco. The case she was working on involved a man who was faking an injury, the insurance company believed. Just as she snapped a photo of him jumping on a cable car with no difficulty, he shot her. When she recovered, she decided to quit her job, leave San Francisco, and go somewhere peaceful. She ends up in a small town in northern Washington State called Port Findlay where she opens a photography studio. She also joins the Arts Alliance and is asked to co-chair the annual photography show. The other chair is handsome chiropractor Connor Callahan. He has been widowed and is lonely and is interested in Diana. The president of the Arts Alliance is Rosemary Barrett, the self-important woman who runs almost everything in Port Findlay. She is efficient and compelling, but rubs some folks the wrong way. She is supposed to open the building for the judges and Connor and Diana the day the show begins, but she does not appear. They discover why -- and find her dead body. She has been shot. This book is best classified as romantic mystery. It is obvious from the beginning that Diana and Connor are interested in each other and will carry that interest further. It is well-written and very pleasant. There is nothing to pull the reader out of the story. The violence mostly happens off-stage; there are attacks on Diana and of course a final confrontation, but no serious violence. In most ways it is a traditional mystery. The murder has already happened when the story opens. The setting is a small town and a somewhat closed environment. We know all the suspects early in the book and there are clues suggesting who the murderer might be although one crucial fact is not available to either the amateur sleuths or the reader until close to the denouement. SNAP SHOT captures the small town on the ocean quite well. It is a town tourists visit and many of the businesses are set up to cater to tourists as well as the local residents. Shop owners know each other and most people recognize nearly every one else in town. It is a pleasant town without much crime. About the only problem is some ugly racism from one old man who has not learned any better. This is a good Sunday afternoon or beach read. It has intrigue and interest without requiring you to read about violence, evil, or other unpleasant things. The people are enjoyable to meet, the romance is pleasant, and the solution sensible.
Reviewed by Sally Fellows, August 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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