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Strange Bedfellows |
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| Strange Bedfellows by Matt Witten Signet Books 214 pages, 2000 ISBN 0451201590 Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart Read our author interview Read our review of Breakfast at Madeline’s Politics does indeed make Strange Bedfellows as Matt Witten provides ample evidence in his new mystery novel. And considering what’s been happening in the recent United States political arena (both on the national, state, and local levels) Witten’s timing couldn’t be more apropos. By day, Jacob Burns is a husband, father, and writer. He’s made a small fortune on an inane disaster movie entitled The Gas that Ate San Francisco. In his free time, and reluctant at best, Jake dabbles as a private investigator, with visions of Raymond Chandler and Sam Spade filling his head. His old pal Will Shmuckler decides to run for Congress in upstate New York as a Democrat, a party that hasn’t won a 22nd District election since before the Great Depression. Just before a radio debate, Will’s opponent, career politician and Republican Jack "the Hack" Tamarack, is gunned down in the station’s greenroom. All the evidence points to Will. It also seems that everyone in the 22nd District is convinced of Will's guilt. In desperation, Will begs Jake to prove his innocence. A mixture of Colombo and a peeping tom, Jake works his way up and down the District, piecing together a puzzle the police are sure doesn’t exist, eventually uncovering a rash of affairs, dirty politics, lies, deceptions, and frauds. Strange Bedfellows, the third Jacob Burns mystery, is an enjoyable cozy with well-drawn characters and some interesting turn of events. |
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