Hush Money: A Mystery
Jack MacTaggart, the lawyer hero of this entertaining crime novel, is a cheerful chap with a fondness for wisecracks (e.g., What are the three rules of capitalism? Invest somebody else’s money. Make a profit. Keep both). To everyone’s surprise, including his, MacTaggart is made a partner in a nose-in-the-air Pasadena law firm. He’s sent to help a client whose show horse has died in ambiguous circumstances. She’s wealthy, she’s gym-thin yet curvy, she lives opulently, and research reveals she’s desperate for money. Did she kill her horse for insurance? Sounds simple, but the detective work required to find out takes half the book. The best half. MacTaggart is delightful company as he digs and digs, and a plot that seems to be running on predictable rails turns out to be full of surprises. It should have ended there. But the book suddenly becomes a conventional thriller. Car chases, shootouts, and midnight burglaries are not what this novel is about, and they feel tacked onto a story that’s already ended. Still, recommend this one for the amiable hero and the slick sleuthing. --Don Crinklaw