Rainer Maria Rilke

"Live a while in these books, learn from them what seems to you worth learning, but above all love them. This love will be repaid you a thousand and a thousand times, and however your life may turn,-it will, I am certain of it, run through the fabric of your growth as one of the most important threads among all the threads of your experiences, disappointments, and joys."--Rainer Maia Rilke


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Saturday, January 7, 2012

A Mystery with a Female Detective

The Shoeless Kid by Marcelle Dube
(Adult Mystery)

A mystery with a female detective, especially a police procedural one, is hard to find.  Dube doesn't disappoint.

When Kate takes over as a small-town police chief, she in unprepared for the 'good-old-boy's' club in the department.  The staff undermines all her decisions and she soon begins to second guess everything she does and knows. 

When a rookie at the station has a funny feeling about a tennis shoes brought in by a homeless man, Kate almost passes on the case, thinking her female instincts need to be tamped down.  After, no crime has been committed.  The funny feeling gets to Kate.  But should she trust her instincts?  That led her wrong once before and she has a lot to prove to the mostly male department she is currently assigned to.  However, old habits die hard and Kate launches an investigation that leads to a thrilling mystery ride.

This is probably not a crime thriller that most men would be interested in.  There is  a lot of soul-searching and self-reflection by the main character and the book seems to be more about Kate's filling in her new shoes as police chief rather than figuring out the mystery of a shoeless kid.

As a woman, I enjoyed the introspection, the trumping of male chauvinism and the mystery.  Overall, an author I'm glad I was introduced to and one I will be on the lookout for.

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