Saturday, February 22, 2014

High Midnight - Stuart M. Kaminsky

Pretty sure I have these last three Toby Peters books in chronological order. I don't think it's really a necessity, but it keeps me from spoiling whatever shifts Kaminsky might put into action. As for High Midnight, Peters finds himself with some mobsters leaning on him to lean on Gary Cooper to appear in some crappy little western. Toby has no idea what they're talking about, until he finds out the man he shares office space with took the case without telling him.

The man he shares office space with happens to be a dentist, if you're wondering. Those are the sorts of little quirks and twists I enjoy about Kaminsky's work. The 15 or so pages where Hemingway appears, I'm not as fond of. It's Hemingway as a bully, a blowhard. And his appearance doesn't serve much of a purpose. Makes the book a couple of pages longer, but that's about it.

It's not one of the better ones I've read so far. There's also a subplot involving Toby's ex-wife, Anna, that is pretty depressing. It might be worse because I've read two of the later books, so I know how it's going to turn out. But even beyond that, the way Toby mentions that Anna found so many things wrong with him, it leaves me wondering why he keeps bugging her, if he's fully aware of all the things she didn't like about him. Yes, Toby is a private eye, used to going where he's not wanted, but he's also usually more respectful to the women he meets during the course of these stories. If they want him to leave, he typically does.

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