PENANCE (Private Investigator-Minnesota-Cont) – G+Housewright, David – 1st in seriesFoul Play Press, 1995- HardcoverHolland Taylor, a former cop turned private, is brought in for questioning about the murder of a man who had been released after serving time for driving drunk and killing Taylor's wife and child. Taylor realizes he's been set up by the cops to find the killer, but things become very interesting when the trail involves someone attempting to blackmail a candidate for governor.*** The plot is over-involved and Taylor needed a little more dimensionality. Even the character admits to his occasional TSTL moments. But the story is fast-paced with some wonderful moments and is a very credible first book. Having read one of his recent books of a new series, I do know he's an author worth reading. That said, I do recommend this book and look forward to reading the next two in the Taylor series.
Holland Taylor, ex-homicide cop finds himself the suspect in the case of the death of John Brown, the man who killed his wife and daughter in a DUI car accident. Brown was killed just a few months after his release from prison after serving most of a four-year sentence, so naturally Taylor becomes a suspect.He's sucked into the investigation by his former partner, Anne Scalesi, now a lieutenant in the St. Paul Homicide unit and he’s thrown into the midst of the campaign of C.C. Munro who might become the first female governor of Minnesota. As the dead bodies pile up and connections appear, Taylor has some serious navigating to do through the swamp. It has cynicism, a nifty plot, and humor. Can’t ask for more than that.P.S. He has a pet rabbit. An excellent P.I. story. I will definitely read more. Really, 4.5
What do You think about Penance (1997)?
This book, the first in a series of three, is about an ex-cop turned private investigator who gets involved in several murders in and around the Minnesota State Capitol. The writing is at times very witty. There are a number of peripheral characters whose links to the overall story are confusing at times. The ending was somewhat rushed. Overall, I enjoyed the book and plan on reading the others in the series. The author also writes a different series that I plan to check out. I visited the author's website and learned that one of the three books in this series may be made into a movie.
—Linda Prihoda
