Review: Brisk Procedural Backed by Solid Writing
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2014
Cry Wolf by J. Carson Black is the fourth in the author's Laura Cardinal series, but it marked my first dive into these procedurals. It turned out to be a nice fit for waiting at a terminal for a flight to sunny weather. It's a brisk novel (novelette?) that's easy to pull in and out of while the gate changes for the 27th time.In this Cardinal caper, a pathological liar is found murdered in his vehicle on an Arizona back road. Our ghost whispering detective (she gets hints from the spirit of a dead partner, apparently explained elsewhere in the series) unwinds the events that led to the murder.I usually read from the opposite spectrum of crime fiction - where action is favored over the "just the facts, ma'am" stuff. But Black writes an air of authority into each scene. I knew I wouldn't be rolling my eyes when the mystery cracked. And I didn't.If quickie procedurals are your thing, this is your series. Go for it, slice.