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A Summer for Dying |
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 A Summer for Dying byJamie Katz Harper Collins 384 pages, August 2000 ISBN 0061097128 Reviewed by PJ Nunn Read our author interview Read our review of Dead Low Tide by the same author This second mystery in the series sees Boston attorney Dan Kardon helping out Jerome Mann, a friend of Dan's girlfriend Jenny. Jerome owns a huge piece of land outside Boston. Although he was one of the few black residents in Meadowbrook, nobody seemed to mind when he wanted to use a piece of that land to open a golf course. But when he needed a permit to use the other portion of the land as a camp for inner city kids, that was another story. Before Dan Kardon's involvement with the case, Jerome had another attorney who believed that obtaining a permit would be no problem. Until someone killed that attorney before he had a chance to prove it. Dan and Jenny help Jerome get ready for a meeting where the town elders will vote on the permit. When Jerome’s request is rejected, he decides to fight back. Two issues are at stake: neighbors fear that Boston kids can bring city crime to Meadowbrook, and the pond on the land is home to endangered turtles. Both issues could have been resolved easily. Yet somebody thought differently, and that somebody killed Jerome. With the help of Jerome’s cousin Daryl, a basketball player for the Boston Shamrocks and Jerome’s partner, Dan Kardon is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, while Jenny is called away on a family emergency. The conspiracy Dan uncovers concerns a lot more than kids and turtles. And if he’s not careful, he and Daryl may be the killer's next victims. Katz has a solid background for writing mysteries with a legal bend. His voice is slightly off the beaten track, but it’s a scenic diversion. His characters have just a touch of the tongue-in-cheek style to lighten an otherwise heavy subject. The topic of racism certainly isn’t new, but the author's writing addresses it from a slightly different slant, bypassing those desensitized places and giving it a new bite. A SUMMER FOR DYING is a gripping read with a complex plot that keeps the pace moving right to the last page. |
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