Memory in Death (J. D. Robb) Conclusion

I’m not a long-time Mystery fan; I’ve come to them rather late, and then chiefly because most of the best writers just happen to be Mystery writers.  Not sure why that is.  Crime Fiction is another name for many of the books I like these days – is there a difference?  Anyway the best of these include the fascinating “armchair psychology” that those of us who like to study and observe people enjoy tremendously.  With this book I have come to realize that the most intriguing psychological aspects of Crime Fiction are not necessarily the attempts to figure out how the criminal thinks (in order to catch him), but often a microscopic look at how the protagonist reasons (in order to solve the mystery).

Some of these books feature a sleuth who is a whiz at high-tech data crunching, and uses computers to catch the criminal.  Others show us a rather bumbling bull-in-a-china-shop detective who blusters his way into a solution, much to the criminal’s chagrin.  Eve Dallas, our heroine in this book, uses a very intuitive approach, often saying things like, “That doesn’t ring right, somehow,” or “For some reason, that theory doesn’t work for me.”  Combined with brusque way of dealing with people and her inability to sit still for any length of time until a case is cracked, this approach is a lot of fun to watch.

Eve likes to talk through the evidence and facts as they are known with one of a number of different people, including her understudy, Peabody and her husband, Roarke.  To one of the crime researchers at headquarters, Feeney:  ‘”He’s [the murderer is] smart enough, allegedly, to kill, remember the details to cover himself for the murder, get out and away undetected.  He’s smart enough, allegedly, to be on the spot in order to get another woman into a closed establishment, without anyone they passed noticing the abduction.  He leaves no trace there either.  But he flubs up the main deal?  He screws up on what we would be led to believe was the motive for murder?  You buy that, Feeney?”’  After hearing her cover all the bases as she currently sees them, Feeney – no novice himself – offers this;  ‘”You’ve got to get something on her – or him.  Something you can use to put the pressure on.  You’ve got yourself an onion.”  “I’ve got a what?”  “An onion.  You’ve gotta start peeling away the layers.”’

Her intuition tells her which layers to peel off first.  Sometimes her first or second choice doesn’t pan out.  In a couple of instances, someone says or does something that reminds her of another line of inquiry she had thought of earlier and put on the back burner.  (Sue Grafton’s private eye, Kinsey Millhone, always writes all this stuff down, forcing herself to take the time to sit and make detailed notes so that she doesn’t forget a line of inquiry she had thought of before – oh, and so that she has documentation to show her clients to prove that the money she’s charging them was worth it!)

The leads that she eventually get around to exploring finally link up to some evidence, not solid enough for a court case, but solid enough to convince her she’s on the right track.  I theorized last time that one of the abused foster children would eventually be discovered as the murderer, and not Zana, though she seems more and more likely as the investigation progresses.  Was I right?  Well, yes and no!  A brilliant ending culminating in some beautifully depicted interrogation techniques performed by Eve in order to squeeze out the confession!  Taking the resolution of the mystery and reconstructing the action backward from the end, it’s fairly easy to see how J. D. Robb constructed the plot.  But not until then!  An impressive display of novel-writing skills from a dedicated, veteran writer; way up on my list now!

Join us next month for Junes’s book of the month; “The Real Frank Zappa Book,” by Frank Zappa and Peter Occhiogrosso!

This is the second-best way to expose yourself to the particular genius of Frank Zappa (music is the best, after all)--through his own words. In addition to being an idiosyncratic American composer of some degree of controversy, Zappa was an orator of no small ability or scope. He was known for his ability to expound at great length (and to hilarious effect) on any number of topics. The Real Frank Zappa Book faithfully captures this side of its author, composed of essays on everything from his background and upbringing, to politics, capitalism, and raising children. Zappa takes the opportunity to dispel some of the most pervasive rumors that surrounded him right up to (and even persist after) his death in 1993 (no he didn't do drugs, or sleep with all those groupies). If you're familiar with the man, you will be able to hear his distinctive enunciations (aided by the bold-facing of certain words and Zappaisms) as you read the assorted road stories, his views on making music for a living, and scenes from two--count them, two--organized hearings on obscenity in music. Of course, the chapter titles speak for themselves and include such Zappa winners as "All About Schmucks," "Marriage (As a Dada Concept)," and "America Drinks and Goes Marching." – Amazon.com review (4.5 stars).

Determined to write a book that had " real stuff in it," the outspoken Zappa, one of the most inventive and controversial artists of the past 20 years, is frank, often disgusting, and always entertaining in describing his life ("How weird am I, anyway?"), his philosophy of music ("Take it or leave it, I now will this to be music "), and art in general ("The most important thing in art is The Frame "). Zappa also relates his opinions about the music performing and recording industries, but then rattles on about a myriad of things: church, drugs, yuppies, politics. The book would have benefited from a discography and a bibliography. Recommended for libraries with large pop culture collections. - Donald W. Maxwell, Carmel Clay P.L., In, from Library Journal.

Week 1:  Chapters 1-4
Week 2:  Chapters 5-8
Week 3:  Chapters 9-14
Week 4:  Chapters 15-19