Review: Monterey Mischief
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 12, 2013
Monterey Mischief is a colloquialism for locally grown euphorics. This book presents Carlos Acuna, retired FBI agent and twice divorced ladies' man. He has moved from DC back to California, and sets himself up in an idyllic stone house surrounded by woods and beautiful scenery. Big Sur is described, and this hand-built cottage, the Renard House, is especially fun to imagine. Several minor plots run simultaneously, with a host of characters, and spanning four generations of professional photographers. Here's one of my favorite lines: "Sunny days tempted a photographer to try to capture fully the impossible beauty of nature. One could waste a lifetime at that hopeless task."Acuna eventually goes to Mexico to find one of the famous photographers, and the plots converge there. It's a pleasant, light read with little violence and the intrigue is more in following Acuna and his various activities, rather than watching a mystery unfold. Keeping up with who is who was sometimes a task, but the author does give a cast of characters for reference.Simpson's greatest strength is in place description. A person can feel the wind on the Mexican beach and see the rugged California coastline. It's easy to get lost in a daydream about being in those places, casually observing the events as they transpire.