Starred review from January 25, 2010
Set in 1990, Read’s superb third Madeline Dare novel (after The Crazy School
) finds the acid-tongued ex-socialite and her blue-collar husband, Dean, in Manhattan. A chance encounter with distant cousin Cate Ludlam introduces Madeline to Queens’ Prospect Cemetery, where Cate is in charge of the volunteer cleanup effort. While helping to clear weeds, Madeline unearths a small skeleton, which turns out to be that of three-year-old Teddy Underhill, reported missing months earlier. Accustomed to snooping around police investigations, Madeline hounds the lead detective in charge for answers, and soon learns that Teddy was a victim of regular physical abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend. Read expertly evokes the New York City of the period, from the nearly palpable grime of Chelsea to disturbing undertones of racism and classism in the justice system. Equal parts toughness and vulnerability, Madeline is always a bracing heroine.
January 29, 2010
Reformed socialite Madeline Dare (A Field of Darkness) begins a new chapter in her life and consciousness when she discovers the skeletal remains of a toddler in her family's neglected private cemetery and determines to seek justice for the child. Part mystery, part character piece, and part social treatise on race and class relations, Read's third mystery is interesting and well written; her dialog and character descriptions are compelling.Verdict This will appeal to readers fond of Daniel Judson, Laura Lippman, and Peter Abrahams.-Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ
Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 15, 2010
Ex-debutante Madeline Dare is a fallen WASP with a stinging wit. The one-time newspaper reporter seems to find murder and mayhem wherever she goes. In this lively third offering (after The Crazy School, 2008), the mordant Dare discovers, in a New York cemetery housing her ancestors, the remains of what was clearly an abused boy. What cruel soul could have beaten three-year-old Teddy Underhill to death? High on the suspect list are the boys deadbeat mother, Angela, and her equally unsavory boyfriend, Albert, who claims the child wandered off while he was taking a nap. Madeline finds herself immersed in the case, while her husband, Dean, spends his days working for Christoph, a neo-Nazi businessman. (Christophs wife, Astrid, gives Madeline a copy of Mein Kampf as a gift.) Along the way, Madeline gets chummy with a homicide cop named Skwarecki, who shares her endearingly cynical outlook on life. As in previous entries, Shamus Awardwinner Read offers a steady dose of suspense and plenty of clever commentary on the caprices of the upper crust.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)