A Right to Die

For all the fuss that people make over the language in Too Many Cooks, I'm surprised I don't hear more over this one. Blatant racism runs throughout this–never from the characters we care about, thankfully–most of the characters acting that way would probably not think they were racist, either. Which makes them work so much better. Stout does one thing I really admire–unlike so many writers, he doesn't treat his racists as cartoons. Most of the time when you see/read someone with deep unPC prejudices, they come across as thoroughly despicable in every sense. These people are depicted as Stout normally depicts suspects/witnesses–everyday people–until they open their mouths on this subject. And then you can't turn the pages fast enough to get away from them.

Oh, and great mystery, too. Can't forget that.