PANORAMA CITY
Day Celebration by preparing to plant a batch of Confederate roses, which are really hibiscus, at the local cemetery when their attention is called to the plight of Verna Tidwell, who’s accused of stealing $15,000 from the town coffers. Darling president Liz Lacy, who works for a lawyer, enlists the help of a few close friends to prove Verna’s innocence. In the meantime the reticent Miss Rogers, town librarian and Dahlia member, has discovered a mystery of her own. Miss Rogers was left in an orphanage as a young child, her only possession a pillow that belonged to her grandmother, Rose. Now that a pesky tomcat has ripped the knitted cover, Miss Rogers finds that the pillow has been embroidered with a series of unusual symbols. The editor of the local newspaper takes on the task of researching the pillow and comes up with a remarkable discovery. As usual, Albert (The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies, 2011, etc.) plumps up her wisp of a mystery with plenty of charm and period detail.
Wilson, Antoine Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (304 pp.) $24.00 | Sep. 25, 2012 978-0-547-87512-5 The history of literature is full of simple characters who become transformed or enlightened through their experiences. But there are some who just stay simple, like Oppen Porter, the hero of the second novel by Wilson (The Interloper, 2007). We never learn exactly what’s wrong with Oppen. When we first meet him, he’s attempting to bury his recently deceased father in his backyard. This draws the attention of the police, who turn him over to crusty but kindhearted Aunt Liz; she gets him a job at a burger franchise and encourages him to get involved with a Christian fellowship. Oppen also becomes attached to Paul Renfro, a petty criminal whom he meets on a bus and mistakes for a philosopher. That’s about it for the plot, except that Oppen winds up hospitalized when two of his best friends engage him in a jolly game of chicken, their pickup truck vs. his bicycle. Mercifully, he also gains a love interest, and the book’s narrative device is a transcription of hospital tapes (complete with endlessly repeated conversational tics) that he makes for his unborn son. But the book’s intent is neither dark nor satirical; we’re supposed to identify with Oppen as he dispenses homespun homilies and folksy wisdom (some of which seems too clever to have come from this character). Yet it’s hard to root for a character who seems as clueless after his transformational journey as he was beforehand. There are some witty moments here, like the scene where he smokes pot for the first time, but this is most likely to appeal to readers who took Forrest Gump seriously.
DEATH WARMED OVER
Anderson, Kevin J. Kensington (304 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-7582-7734-3 Tireless sci-fi chronicler Anderson (Enemies & Allies, 2009, etc.) creates a dayafter-tomorrow world in which a zombie sleuth prowls the mean streets as he works a half-dozen seriously weird cases. Ever since the Big Uneasy, when a 58-year-old virgin accidentally spilled her blood on a copy of the Necronomicon and “caused a fundamental shift in the natural order of things,” vampires, werewolves, ghouls, goblins and other undead creatures have been common. One in 75 dead people rises from the grave, like zombie private eye Dan Chambeaux. One in 30 becomes a ghost, like Dan’s equally murdered girlfriend, Sheyenne. Together with Dan’s still-living partner, Robin Deyer, they juggle a dizzying caseload. Dan, Robin and Sheyenne work to protect vegan vampire Sheldon Fennerman from harassment by the Straight Edgers, who want to keep human nature human. They fight for the emancipation of Ramen Ho-Tep, a long-dead pharaoh whose museum demands he stay put in his glass exhibit case. They search for a way to keep Jackie Dorset’s late Uncle Stan from haunting her family. They press Mavis Wannovich’s suit against the publisher whose book of spells had a typo that turned her sister, Alma, into a giant sow. And they seek evidence that will allow Miranda Jekyll to break the prenup that prevents her from divorcing her wealthy husband, Harvey, CEO of Jekyll Lifestyle Products and Necroceuticals, on her own terms. Mainly, though, they try to solve Dan and Sheyenne’s own murders. Like Alexander McCall Smith’s Mma Precious Ramotswe, the sleuths really do settle most of their cases, and they provide a lot of laughs along the way. It’s hard to disagree with Dan’s verdict: “Never a dull moment.” (Agent: John Silbersack)
m ys t e r y THE DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE CONFEDERATE ROSE
Albert, Susan Wittig Berkley Prime Crime (304 pp.) $24.95 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-425-24776-1 A third unruffled retro whodunit for the ladies of the Darling Dahlias garden club. Despite their ability to grow some of their food and barter for needed items, life isn’t easy for the citizens of Darling, Ala., during the Great Depression. But it’s harder for some folks than others. The Dahlias are busy getting ready for the Confederate 1746
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15 august 2012
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fiction
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kirkus.com
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