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This is the seventh adventure of PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull Dashiell in New York. Rachel receives a phone call from New York police detective, Michael Brody, breaking the news of the death of his colleague, Timothy O'Fallon, who has named her the executor of his will. Rachel cannot remember who Timothy was at first but she eventually recalls that he was a member of a 9/11 support group that she had led. Timothy had spoken little and revealed nothing to her though he showed attachment to Dashiell. Dashiell is a dog of myriad skills -- he protects Rachel, he finds things, he is a therapy dog providing comfort to many ill and disturbed people and he is learning to find dead bodies. The death of Timothy occurred when he was cleaning his service revolver in his apartment. Rachel finds the tasks of sorting out the detritus of the policeman's life very disturbing. She has to notify his relatives, empty his apartment and deal with the man Timothy had been trying to help into a better life. Rachel finds herself compiling a picture of Timothy's very sad past. The effects of the past on the present, as always, are enormously complex and she begins to realise that these past events impinge on the causes of his death. The book is firmly set in post 9/11 New York and that event also looms over the story. Rachel refers to the poignancy of needing to apply artificial tears to protect the eyes from the gritty atmosphere. This small practical detail about coping with the dust caused by the collapse of the twin Towers really bring the experience home to a non-New Yorker. Rachel is also deeply affected by 9/11 finding solace in hard work. She is a natural investigator, pulling at all the loose ends to find the end of the thread. The story follows her meetings with those involved in Timothy O'Fallon's life, her gradual discoveries about his past and the developments after that death; these factors are combined together to make a fascinating tale.
Reviewed by Jennifer S. Palmer, May 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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