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Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
May 26, 2006 Friday
Final Edition
BOOKS AT A GLANCE
by Peter Mergendahl, Jane Dickinson, Mark Graham & Jennifer Miller,
Special to the News
THRILLERS
Hardscrabble Road
By Jane Haddam (St. Martin's, $24.95). Grade: A-
After 20 books featuring the Armenian-American FBI agent Gregor
Demarkian, one would suspect that Jane Haddam would have her craft
and character down pat. No surprise, then, when this latest Demarkian
tale is spot-on. Like John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, there's no
slowing this sleuth down. Demarkian, though retired from the FBI,
just can't stay away from the hunt, even as he tries to convince
himself he wants to.
He has quite a hunt on his hands here. A charismatic, power-hungry,
right-wing-ranter-of-a-radio-host named Drew Harrigan has been caught
with handfuls of prescription painkillers and has disappeared into a
closed-door rehabilitation center. Sound familiar? Before
disappearing into therapy, Harrigan had pointed a finger at an
alcoholic, homeless man named Sherman Markey as his source for the
drugs.
With the help of a legal advocacy group, Markey sues Harrigan for
slander and libel and then disappears back into the streets of
Philadelphia. Now Markey's court appearance is looming, and the group
representing him turns to Demarkian for help in locating him.
What he first assumes will be a one- or two-day task soon takes on
darker tones. There are a great many people, it seems, who have
reasons for Markey to disappear permanently, including a left-wing,
Nobel-prize-winning professor; a Carmelite nun; and a Philadelphia
mayoral candidate. Oh, and of course there is murder to bloody the
pot.
Rife with political insights, subtle humor at all her characters'
expense and a keen eye for telling a story from multiple characters'
diverse perspectives, Hardscrabble Road is as deep as it is wide. A
few minor squabbles include a slight over-indulgence in esoteric
academic outlooks and the author's assumption that readers will wait
- through 60 pages of elliptical and sometimes confusing plot setups
- before a word from the main character.. All in all, this is a
thriller for the thoughtful, though Rush Limbaugh fans may want to
give it a wide berth.
May 26, 2006 Friday
Final Edition
BOOKS AT A GLANCE
by Peter Mergendahl, Jane Dickinson, Mark Graham & Jennifer Miller,
Special to the News
THRILLERS
Hardscrabble Road
By Jane Haddam (St. Martin's, $24.95). Grade: A-
After 20 books featuring the Armenian-American FBI agent Gregor
Demarkian, one would suspect that Jane Haddam would have her craft
and character down pat. No surprise, then, when this latest Demarkian
tale is spot-on. Like John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, there's no
slowing this sleuth down. Demarkian, though retired from the FBI,
just can't stay away from the hunt, even as he tries to convince
himself he wants to.
He has quite a hunt on his hands here. A charismatic, power-hungry,
right-wing-ranter-of-a-radio-host named Drew Harrigan has been caught
with handfuls of prescription painkillers and has disappeared into a
closed-door rehabilitation center. Sound familiar? Before
disappearing into therapy, Harrigan had pointed a finger at an
alcoholic, homeless man named Sherman Markey as his source for the
drugs.
With the help of a legal advocacy group, Markey sues Harrigan for
slander and libel and then disappears back into the streets of
Philadelphia. Now Markey's court appearance is looming, and the group
representing him turns to Demarkian for help in locating him.
What he first assumes will be a one- or two-day task soon takes on
darker tones. There are a great many people, it seems, who have
reasons for Markey to disappear permanently, including a left-wing,
Nobel-prize-winning professor; a Carmelite nun; and a Philadelphia
mayoral candidate. Oh, and of course there is murder to bloody the
pot.
Rife with political insights, subtle humor at all her characters'
expense and a keen eye for telling a story from multiple characters'
diverse perspectives, Hardscrabble Road is as deep as it is wide. A
few minor squabbles include a slight over-indulgence in esoteric
academic outlooks and the author's assumption that readers will wait
- through 60 pages of elliptical and sometimes confusing plot setups
- before a word from the main character.. All in all, this is a
thriller for the thoughtful, though Rush Limbaugh fans may want to
give it a wide berth.