You certainly won't get bogged down in extraneous details in this cut-and-dried mystery, one in a series of books based around Lucy Trimble, a private investigator who has recently moved to Toronto by way of Longborough. Although she has made only a lackadaisical effort towards establishing herself in this new location, she soon takes on the case of Greta Golden, who is apparently being stalked by a mysterious man.
Although it was fairly easy to read in its simplistic narration, it's only mildly interesting, perhaps due to the lack of complex characterization of the central figures - Lucy; her client, Greta Golden; and the pesky private investigator from England, Michael Curnow, who eventually teams up with Lucy for lack of anything better to do. The only characters created with any depth were the Robarts librarian, Cathy Dickens, and the Ward's Island resident, Jim McSweeney, although he fades into the background early and only resurfaces towards the end, not unlike a typical Agatha Christie novel.
Lucy herself is not really someone who would evoke much sympathy or interest because, although she has the requisite curiosity and determination to "dig up the dirt" to get at the truth of her clients' dilemmas, she seems rather clueless where her personal relationships and even her own personality are concerned. One particularly funny line regarding Lucy's indecisiveness in personal taste was that she "was trying to find a Canadian novelist on the approved list that she could read without having to sit up straight."
Mr. Wright does weave, as a sub-plot of the novel, his heroine's celebration of physical and emotional independence, both on a personal and professional level, while being simultaneously in denial about the death of her current relationship, hence the double entendre of the book's title. As this book is, as stated earlier, part of a series with Lucy Trimble as the main character, it might have helped to read the books in sequential order, or at least the introductory novel. Perhaps this would provide the reader with some familiarity with and camaraderie for Lucy and a desire to read more about her investigating adventures. |
