Minnie Polson was in some sort of trouble, so a friend recommended the private eye firm of Hap Collins, his wife Brett, and their pal Leonard Pine. But when they meet, Minnie doesn鈥檛 like their attitude, and they don鈥檛 like hers.
Hours after they agree to part company, Minnie鈥檚 mansion burns to the ground鈥攖he fire so intense that the only thing left of Minnie is a blackened arm. At first, the authorities deem it an accident, but Hap and company aren鈥檛 so sure.
Feeling a bit guilty that they鈥檇 turned her away, and wondering if she鈥檇 be alive if they hadn鈥檛, they decide to poke around a little to see what they might turn up. They turn up plenty in 鈥淪ugar on the Bones,鈥� 13th thriller featuring the East Texas private eyes.
Hap and his partners are clever, persistent, politically incorrect, heavily armed and capable of extreme violence when threatened or provoked. They also think they鈥檙e funny and often are, the humor trending toward irony, wisecracks and sarcasm.
At first, the detectives focus on Minnie鈥檚 relatives, some of whom had a lot to gain from the rich woman鈥檚 death. However, somebody doesn鈥檛 like the private eyes asking questions. Soon, people they interview about the case start turning up dead, and Hap and his partners are targeted for murder.
It turns out that Minnie鈥檚 death was a small cog in a massive conspiracy involving a series of hideous crimes. For a time, the private detectives work with a senior police official, but he can鈥檛 figure out a legal way to end the carnage. So he tells the detectives he鈥檒l look the other way if they take the bad guys off the board.
鈥淚t鈥檚 murder. It鈥檚 unlawful. It鈥檚 vigilante,鈥� Hap says. 鈥淎nd I didn鈥檛 want to do it. But I knew I would.鈥�
So Hap and company recruit three old friends who have even fewer compunctions about violence than they do, and they go to war. The result is what may be the best novel in this fine series. The quirky characters are well drawn, the prose is tight, the pace is furious, the surprises keep coming and the violent climax is nothing less than savage.
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winner of the Mystery Writers of America鈥檚 Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including 鈥淭he Dread Line.鈥�
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AP book reviews:
Bruce Desilva, The Associated Press
