Quit Monks or Die!

Kumin, Maxine

ISBN 10: 1885266774 / ISBN 13: 9781885266774

Published by Story Line Press, 1999

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Synopsis:

In the small southwestern town of Montandino, the investigation into the murder of the Graysmith Research Laboratory's director and his young graduate assistant is complicated by the activities of The Mercy Bandits, a group of animal rights terrorists

Review: Penzler Pick, December 1999: A large cast of characters populates this elegant debut mystery by a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. The setting is southern California--a mostly sleepy town, the main employer of which is a suddenly-controversial research lab. The lab director, found dead in bizarre circumstances, left behind a few too many people who wished him such a fate, including members of his own family and staff. This classic set-up is overseen by the local chief of police, one Digger Martinez. It's only his second homicide in 30 years and, at 73, he is willing to admit that detecting hasn't been his thing. As he struggles to resist the donuts that are his downfall, he ambles around with shrewd geniality, asking a few questions here and there, but mostly just waiting and listening well until the truth reveals itself. Everyone's hiding something, including the dead man's twin brother, his children (also twins), his wife, and a couple of young employees, one of whom herself soon winds up dead.

Readers sorting through the layers of culpability will find added colour in runaway llamas, missing monkeys, an ecumenical Seder gone awry, kinky sex, and a rodeo rider scared to death of horses. Not to mention the animals rights activists: the violently inclined Bandits of Mercy. Digger Martinez is an appealing character, a fine invention by Kumin, whose taste is for the intelligently traditional, even as she brings it squarely up to date. And the pleasure of reading this entertaining treatise on animal rights is enhanced by a handsome page design and typeface--a first-class production from a small publisher. --Otto Penzler

Bibliographic Details

Title: Quit Monks or Die!
Publisher: Story Line Press
Publication Date: 1999
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good