American/Cozy Mysteries

There were two major things that I thought set this novel apart from many other competent - but not so memorable - mysteries. One was the very authentic details of what a reporter does; and the other was the vivid description - including of food, which I usually dislike - of the very large and varied Hispanic culture in LA. In the Midwest, while there are many minorities, the crest of the Hispanic culture hasn't hit us - it seems almost exotic to read about it. In fact, California seems practically like another country - from my freezing, snow filled window, I'm seeing a very different landscape than the one Eve Diamond sees from her LA apartment.

The mystery is a cracking good one, too, and very Chandler-esque, filled with the glamourous rich as well as the squalid life of the homeless, it's a complex and well put-together plot that's emotionally involving at every level. Eve becomes obsessed with finding out who murdered the crazy man's daughter; she's also assigned to a story that takes her into the world of a wealthy Hispanic family that brings Mexican music across the border in a big way. She stumbles, moreover, into the home of the wealthy man who's running for mayor - because his son, Paolo, was acquainted with the victim. All along the way as she tries to balance these three very different worlds - the ultra rich, the Hispanic, and the homeless - she becomes romantically involved; she gets in trouble at work; and she solves the crime without the irritating female-in-danger for-no-reason scenario. Though there is a danger scenario, it's not Eve's fault; nor does the romance end up anywhere near the cliched way it could have. All in all this is one of the more satisfying reads I've had in quite some time.