This is a beautifully written page turn, very smooth and very engaging. Brandstetter is no angst-torn hero despairing of the state of the world. He's a solid, mature professional out to do his job (though not without his own personal problems). Though the killer's identity should be obvious, Hansen weaves the story in such fashion that we are still surprised to find out who done it.
If Hansen has a flaw as a writer, it might be his relentless need to describe all exteriors and interiors, even those that play a scant role in the story. The abundance of detail and description bogs the story down some. But not much. After all Hansen is doing his storyteller's duty to put the reader into the world he has created.
This second book in Joseph Hansen's groundbreaking, critically acclaimed Dave Brandstetter mystery series find's Dave sifting through the elaborate lies surrounding the murder of John Oats, whose drugged body was found washed up on the beach. Left behind are April Stannard, John's lover, and his son Peter, who was the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. The trouble is, Peter is missing.
Joseph Hansen is the author of more than 25 novels and is a renowned short story writer. The winner of the 1992 lifetime achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America, Hansen is also the author of A Smile in his Lifetime, Living Upstairs, Job's Year, and Bohannon's Country.