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Publisher's Weekly
The second story featuring Midwestern lawyer Andrew Broom, introduced in Cause and Effect , confirms McInerny's mastery of the light mystery, a skill displayed earlier in his Father Dowling series, now featured on TV. Here the reader learns early on that Leo Barany has killed his parents and others, planting the bodies on the family farm. He intends his next victim to be Pauline Stanfield, (one of several people Barany resents for having insulted him) but, interrupted before he can complete his mission, he kills her husband Hal, instead. Since the Stanfields planned to divorce, Pauline is the chief suspect when Hal's corpse is found. Hal was being represented by Broom's nephew and partner; Broom, retained by Pauline, realizes his client has a very weak alibi. Another murder and several foiled attempts accrue before the country lawyer brings the case to its harrowing, satisfying close. The comic drama is enlivened by a supporting cast of characters quirky enough to draw interest well beyond Andrew Broom's quiet Indiana home town.
Library Journal
Known for his Father Dowling series, McInerny here perpetuates a refreshing new series featuring Indiana attorney Andrew Broom, who first appeared in Cause and Effect . Cleverly assembling a lively mixture of likely characters, McInerny re-creates life in little Wyler, where Andrew and nephew Gerald Rowan plan to represent opposite sides in a divorce case. After someone kills the recalcitrant husband, attention shifts first to the bitchy wife, next to past mistresses, and finally to a previously introduced creepy bartender/psychopath. No doubt as to the culprit, then, but never a dull moment.-- REK
Genre: Mystery
The second story featuring Midwestern lawyer Andrew Broom, introduced in Cause and Effect , confirms McInerny's mastery of the light mystery, a skill displayed earlier in his Father Dowling series, now featured on TV. Here the reader learns early on that Leo Barany has killed his parents and others, planting the bodies on the family farm. He intends his next victim to be Pauline Stanfield, (one of several people Barany resents for having insulted him) but, interrupted before he can complete his mission, he kills her husband Hal, instead. Since the Stanfields planned to divorce, Pauline is the chief suspect when Hal's corpse is found. Hal was being represented by Broom's nephew and partner; Broom, retained by Pauline, realizes his client has a very weak alibi. Another murder and several foiled attempts accrue before the country lawyer brings the case to its harrowing, satisfying close. The comic drama is enlivened by a supporting cast of characters quirky enough to draw interest well beyond Andrew Broom's quiet Indiana home town.
Library Journal
Known for his Father Dowling series, McInerny here perpetuates a refreshing new series featuring Indiana attorney Andrew Broom, who first appeared in Cause and Effect . Cleverly assembling a lively mixture of likely characters, McInerny re-creates life in little Wyler, where Andrew and nephew Gerald Rowan plan to represent opposite sides in a divorce case. After someone kills the recalcitrant husband, attention shifts first to the bitchy wife, next to past mistresses, and finally to a previously introduced creepy bartender/psychopath. No doubt as to the culprit, then, but never a dull moment.-- REK
Genre: Mystery
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