"Signs with letter missing told the story: lots of OTELS and HOT BO LED CRA FISH and AWN SH PS. Finding Vic means visiting some of the ravaged areas, and Gran's imagery is striking in its objectivity: Claire notes the problem with locating people, phone numbers, addresses in post-Katrina New Orleans, and at least a couple of the locals involved in Claire's mystery are suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder.
They call it a 'flood' and speak of it in terms of days ("'By Monday the phones were down and.' The rest of his sentence was obvious and he didn't say it out loud") or by location: at the Superdome, Houston, back home. One of the many small mysteries of the book is how Claire and the people of New Orleans never refer to Katrina by name, the way the rest of the country does. Claire's own mystery was worked in nicely, leaving a feel for her character but with a sense there is a lot more to discover.Īs in many detective mysteries, setting plays a crucial role. The time shifts flow smoothly and don't feel the intrusive into the story in fact, they blended very well, sometimes foreshadowing the next development in the mystery. Claire frequently references a book by a famous detective (albeit fictional) whose thoughts on detecting are philosophical bon mots on mystery, truth, and humanity, as well as her history with Constance, her mentor. I'd started being forty when I was twenty-nine."Ĭlaire's search brings her into contact with gangs of feral, forgotten children and with her own tumultous history as a detective when she apprenticed in New Orleans. Or whatever.'"Ĭlaire tends to lie a little if it suits seeking solutions to a mystery, and isn't entirely honest about her history to Leon. 'Look out for thine uncle as you would thineself. He feels a little guilty: "'You know what it says in the Bible,' Leon said with resignation. Leon is a client who has requested her help finding his uncle Vic, a lawyer who disappeared during Hurricane Katrina. He hires a detective to prove that his mystery can't be solved."
He doesn't hire a detective to solve his mystery. "The client already knows the solution to his mystery. She knows ultimately she will be solving the case for herself, because sometimes the client doesn't want it solved: As my first review did not do justice to its wonderful combination of mystery, introspection, and setting, I'm setting out to rectify it.Ĭlaire DeWitt is a detective, willing to use all means necessary-including hallucinogenic dreams, the I Ching and fingerprint analysis-to solve her cases. I was a little afraid to re-read this book, because the first time through was so absolutely stunning, it was as if it was written for me.
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