The Dark Place

This wasn't the first Gideon Oliver mystery I have read, but it just might be the last. I remember fondly how, years ago, I used to be able to read and re-read the few, carefully guarded Gideon Oliver mysteries I owned. I got them all from second-hand bookstores and, long before I ordered anything from BN.COM, I didn't know how to get my hands on any more.

When I remembered this author and, finally order the second book in the series (having read the first a couple years ago) I was really looking forward to reading it. The plot synopsis on the back cover sounded so good too, making me really excited to read it.

Honestly, the best that I can say about it is: thank heaven it is short. The mystery was boring and unpleasant, leaving me deducing much of the solution long before our intrepid detective did. Adding the Yahi, while sounding so cool, was really not handled well. And the suspects were very few and far between. In fact, I only recall truly thinking of two of the characters as a ‘suspect'. And one of them was the guilty party. Made painfully obvious to me long before anyone else came up with it.

To me this was really more of a thriller than a mystery novel, with Gideon's escapades and, rather distinct, lack of intelligence he portrayed.

In all truthfulness, my dislike of this book could stem more from the vastly different books I like reading now than what I used to. I cannot be sure but I think it is time to re-read a few of my formerly loved authors and see.