About Me

My photo
Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada
I am a lawyer in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada who enjoys reading, especially mysteries. Since 2000 I have been writing personal book reviews. This blog includes my reviews, information on and interviews with authors and descriptions of mystery bookstores I have visited. I strive to review all Saskatchewan mysteries. Other Canadian mysteries are listed under the Rest of Canada. As a lawyer I am always interested in legal mysteries. I have a separate page for legal mysteries. Occasionally my reviews of legal mysteries comment on the legal reality of the mystery. You can follow the progression of my favourite authors with up to 15 reviews. Each year I select my favourites in "Bill's Best of ----". As well as current reviews I am posting reviews from 2000 to 2011. Below my most recent couple of posts are the posts of Saskatchewan mysteries I have reviewed alphabetically by author. If you only want a sentence or two description of the book and my recommendation when deciding whether to read the book look at the bold portion of the review. If you would like to email me the link to my email is on the profile page.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

"O" is for Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter

"O" is for Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter will be my entry this week for the Alphabet in Crime Fiction meme hosted by Kerrie Smith at her blog Mysteries in Paradise. It is a book I greatly enjoyed 7 years ago. It hardly seems possible we are into the second half of the alphabet.
****
45. - 360.) Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter – An outstanding debut. Spokane detective, Caroline Mabry, is 36 and very conscious of her age (she is living with a 24 year old man). An attempted drug arrest in a park turns in a comedy of errors and then a debacle when a young drug dealer is shoved into a concrete river. Mabry tries desperately to save him. When he is swept away the resulting search turns up the ritualized corpses of prostitutes. A task force led by senior detective, Alan Dupree, and including Mabry seek out the connections between the
murders. Eventually a pair of competing profilers are drawn into the chase. The profilers struggle to make the clues fit their approaches to serial murderers. Mabry and Dupree struggle with their existing relationships and each other. The solution is innovative and a challenge to the “science” of profiling. The characters are alive. Excellent. Hardcover or paperback. (Nov. 12/06)
****
My connection with the book is travel related. A few years ago my family and I stopped in Spokane while traveling from Seattle to Saskatchewan. I hope to return to Spokane. It is a lovely city.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting. I have read some series that featured male and female partners.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill - Oh, I'd heard this was a good read. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And what an interesting choice to examine how profiling works. Thanks for reminding me of this one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bill, my husband saw this post first and sent it to me thinking it would be an interesting book. I agree. Glad that you pointed this out to us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bill, nice post. I've only tried the one Walter book so far, though it was fairly awesome from memory - Citizen Vince. I have this on the pile and only last week picked up a copy of his latest - Beautiful Ruins, though it's been out a year or two now. Another author, I'm long overdue enjoying.

    ReplyDelete
  5. col: Thanks for the comment. I read Citizen Vance and enjoyed the book.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Margot: Thanks for the comment. It will lead you to consider profiling in a critical way.

    ReplyDelete
  7. TracyK: Thanks for the comment. I hope you and/or your husband read the book. I think you will be absorbed.

    ReplyDelete