Savage Garden by
Denise Hamilton
hbk out April 06
Published by Orion
at £18.99
Written by a professional journalist, ten years on the Los Angeles Times,
this a Californian murder tale with at least a hint of autobiography.
Her series heroine is Eve Diamond, a LA Times journalist, who often gets
involved in homicides in that great sleazy city.
This time, a Latino actress, Caterina, fails to show up on the opening
night of a trendy play written by a married man who is also her lover.
Eve's boyfriend, Silvio, is a bosom pal of the playwright and when they
go looking for Caterina, signs at her house strongly suggest a murder or
abduction. Silvio acts oddly throughout the affair, and it transpires that he
too had had an affair with the said Caterina.
The second string to the story is the most interesting, in that Eve is
saddled with Felice, a new young black reporter, recruited by the LA
Times under its positive discrimination policy. Felice rapidly gets up
Eve's nose, as she steals some of her stories and Eve is suspicious that
she may even have invented a few. There is a near-approach to political
incorrectness on Eve's part, as she muses that while the paper takes high-
flying black youngsters from rich over-privileged families, some poor
hick from the Appalachians doesn't get a chance.
Much of the book consists of racing around LA and its environs, getting
shot at and grabbing a sandwich here and there, typical of the American
way of life!
Plenty of action, though the writing style, which has gained the author
many prizes and accolades, is a little too over-dramatic for my taste.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
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Savage Garden by
Denise Hamilton
