Sunday, July 26, 2009

Peace, Love and Murder-Nancy Holzner

Peace, Love and Murder
Nancy Holzner
Five Star, Aug 31 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9781594147753

When Bo Forrester was eighteen, he could no longer reside at the commune his gentle parents raised him in; so he enlisted with the army. Two decades later, he has come home to Rhodes, New York praying they can reconcile, but the commune has been replaced by a sub-division and no one seems to know where his parents went except somewhere out west. He drives a cab while seeking information on his parents.

He is driving Carl and Ronnie to work when Deputy Sheriff Trudy Hauser stops the cab for speeding. Ronnie flees, but Trudy tackles him and finds marijuana on him. When Bo pops the trunk, Trudy stares at a corpse; later identified as history professor Fred Davies. Whereas Trudy believes Bo is guilty and follows him legally and not so legally, he begins to investigate and soon finds a horde of people who loathed Davies; others die, but though suspicion remains even stronger that Bo is the killer, Trudy believes he is innocent and teams up with him to uncover the killer.

This is an enjoyable whodunit starring a fascinating hero who grew up as “Rainbow”, a name he detested, but now misses his loving parents. His relationship with Bo turns from suspicions and distrust to strong attraction and maybe love although the change by Trudy seems too abrupt and ends her Inspector Girard like persistence of chasing the “fugitive” that added freshness to the mystery (even if she should have been suspended). Still fans will appreciate this fine murder who-done-it enhanced by Bo’s past and look forward to a sequel in which he goes west to track his parents.

Harriet Klausner