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Robert Randisi is the founder and executive director of the Private Eye Writers of America, the creator of the Shamus Award, and the cofounder of
Mystery Scene magazine. With such an impressive résumé, one wonders why his latest mystery novel is so leaden.
Blood on the Arch is another in Randisi's series of St. Louis mysteries (see also In the Shadow of the Arch) starring Joe Keough, a New York City detective transplanted to the Midwest. Joe's the St. Louis department's "number-one homicide man," on the scene whenever a tricky murder threatens to baffle lesser minds. This time, Mark Drucker, who has shadowy but definite political connections and ambitions, has been bludgeoned to death in one of the trams that shuttle tourists to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Drucker had been up to his ears in the misappropriation of city funds, and a lot of solid citizens had been gunning for his political, if not actual, demise. As he delves into Drucker's past, present, and future, Keough must negotiate cranky public officials, suspiciously unhelpful lawyers, and a personal dilemma or two.
Unfortunately, Randisi's characters are shallowly drawn, the plot dully incoherent, the denouement astonishingly nonsensical. The reader looking for well-written Midwestern mysteries with a tinge of political graft would be far better advised to turn to Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series (Tunnel Vision, Blood Shot). One hopes that Blood on the Arch is a momentary aberration, and that Randisi's next foray into authorship will better fulfill his dedication to the private-eye genre. --Kelly Flynn
From Publishers Weekly
Set in St. Louis, this efficient, no-nonsense mystery doesn't waste a phrase or a plot turn. When someone bludgeons politician Mark Drucker to death beneath the city's famous landmark (hence the title), series sleuth (Shadow of the Arch) and New York transplant Joe Keough, now with the St. Louis cops, gets on the case. Drucker's ex-wife isn't exactly in mourning. The partners at a prominent law firm aren't grieving over their client, either, although they're intent on keeping his business dealings a secret from the police. Joe almost goes too far when he seizes the chance to interrogate an arrogant attorney in a restaurant washroom. Later, the detective succeeds in befriending the mayor, but he's offended others who see to it that he faces a charge of sexual assault not once but twice. Being diagnosed with diabetes provides another scare. Meanwhile, a killer with huge hands moves on from Drucker. Randisi's prose is supple and never flashy. Though the suspect pool is shallow, the varied motives are compelling. Drucker was making a lot of money with his lawyer pals. His wife wanted more dough than her prenuptial would allow. Several lawyers are guilty of at least infidelity, while a pretty woman at their firm becomes one of Joe's accusers. The solution arrives without unnecessary flourish. (Apr.) founder of the Private Eye Writers of America and the creator of the Shamus Award.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
