Mon 24 May 2010
Reviewed by Walter Albert: VICTORIA LAURIE – Doom with a View.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
VICTORIA LAURIE – Doom with a View: A Psychic Eye Mystery. Obsidian, paperback original, September 2009.
Psychic Abigail (“Abby”) Cooper and her pal PI Candice Fusco join an FBI team headed by sceptic Brice Harrison in an investigation of a search for some missing college students. Not unexpectedly, Harrison proves to be difficult to work with, even in the face of progress resulting from Abby’s psychic gifts.
Some surprising, and initially not entirely welcome, changes occur in Abby’s life as a result of this new direction in her career, but the light touch of this romantic mystery series continues to entertain the reader open to the unconventional techniques of the amateur sleuth.
Previously reviewed on this blog:
Two by Victoria Laurie: What’s a Ghoul Got to Do? and A Vision of Murder (by Walter Albert)
Crime Seen (by Steve Lewis)
May 24th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
These sound like light frothy fun, and I might try one in that mood. Most writers get around the pitfalls of psychic sleuths by having the clues in their visions open to interpretation so they still have to do a bit of detective work. And it is nice to see something in this vein (pun intended) without vampires.
I’ve never minded psychic sleuths if the writing was good. Blackwood’s John Silence, Hodgson’s Carnaki, Rohmer’s Paul Harley and Morris Klaw, Quinn’s Jules de Grandin, and so on. This doesn’t sound in that class, but if it is done lightly enough, might be fun.
May 24th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
There’s a big difference between modern day psychic detectives and ones like John Silence and the others you mention, David, and that’s the light frothy (or cozy) aspect.
It doesn’t bother me, nor does it Walter, but I’m rather sure that books like these by Victoria Laurie are intended primarily for women, not he-man types like Walter and I.
This blog seldom has anyone of the fairer sex commenting on the reviews found here, and I don’t know what to do about that. But often leaves us wondering (or it does me, anyway) what the half of the reading public books like this one are intended for really think of it.
May 25th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
No, Laurie’s supernatural mysteries are not in the class of any of the writers David mentions but they shed a little light in the dark corners where presumably aging fans of the modern descendants of the classic psychic sleuths still lurk.
I would also agree with Steve that the books may be intended primary for women. As for what they think of them I suspect that the continuing publication of the series speaks to that, albeit obliquely.
May 25th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Maybe there are too many of us old fogies scaring some of the women off.
But I agree about the differences in style of psychic sleuth and with Steve and Walter about who reads these. I don’t read any cat series mysteries either, but I don’t really mind they are hugely popular other than they sometimes crowd out books I’d rather read — or seem to.
My second wife read a good many mysteries and yet about the only crossover between us was Ellis Peters Cadfael books and Elizabeth Peters Peabody novels. And come to think of it she liked the romantic vampire novels.
Still, I’ve known female Mickey Spillane fans (and not just Ayn Rand) and Dick Francis had a huge female following. Oh, well, if you figure it out let me know — we’ll get rich quick.