Cape Disappointment-Earl Emerson

Cape Disappointment
Earl Emerson
Ballantine, Jan 26 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780345493026

Seattle private investigator Thomas Black knows he is fortunate to have survived the bomb blast in the school gym that left him hospitalized. However, he is also struggling with his memory as he unsure whether he is a widower or if his wife Kathy Birchfield is alive.

A lawyer, Kathy was a passenger on a chartered plane that crashed into the sea with no survivors; also killing Senator Jane Sheffield. Although he knows she is dead, he keeps seeing her and her cell phone is being used to call him late at nights. Twin brothers Bert and Elmer "Snake" Slezak try to keep Black safe. The former CIA sniper Bert believes the crash that allegedly killed Black’s wife was deliberate.

Fans will appreciate the return of Black (see Fat Tuesday and Catfish Café) in a super over the Space Needle conspiracy thriller that hooks the audience from the onset when the confused detective cannot understand why he sees his wife whom he thinks died. The story line is fast-paced, has ties to 9/11 and makes the strong case that the government’s prime role is to cover-up the mistakes of leaders. No one but politicians and their retinue will be disappointed with Earl Emerson’s excellent return to Black.

Harriet Klausner