Mon 7 Jun 2010
Reviewed by LJ Roberts: L. R. WRIGHT – Sleep While I Sing.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[4] Comments
Reviews by L. J. Roberts
L. R. WRIGHT – Sleep While I Sing. Penguin, US, paperback reprint, October 1987. Bantam Seal, Canada, pb, 1998. Hardcover edition: Viking, US, 1986.
Genre: Traditional mystery/police procedural. Leading character: Staff Sgt. Karl Alberg, 2nd in series. Setting: Victoria, B.C., Canada.
First Sentence: The clearing lay fifty feet from the two-lane Sunshine Coast Highway.
Staff Sergeant Karl Alberg, who never wears his uniform, is looking for the killer of an unknown woman whose throat was slit before her body was propped against a tree and her face washed.
Alberg’s top suspect is a visiting actor, but there is a complication; he is currently dating the town’s librarian, Casandra Mitchell, to whom Alberg is attracted. But is the case on the right track?
I read the first book in this series several years ago and don’t know why I’ve not been back as I really like Wright’s writing. She creates a wonderful sense of place with such evocative descriptions… “It [the rain] fell heavily, but meant no harm.”
I so appreciate which an author’s voice causes you to stop and imagine. The characters are very interesting and very well drawn. Alberg is assured professionally, but much less so personally.
The female characters are confident yet bemused by their reactions to the actor who is Ahlberg’s primary suspect. You get a real feel for each of the characters and with some very effective red herrings, it’s not easy to identify the killer.
The plot is well constructed. The suspense and feeling of menace are created with subtlety but are very much in evidence. Subtle is the perfect word for Wright’s style.
The plot unfolds piece-by-piece in a way that makes sense. This is a very good traditional mystery. It won’t be nearly so long until I read the next book in this series.
Rating: Very Good.
The Karl Alberg series —
1. The Suspect (1985)
2. Sleep While I Sing (1986)
3. A Chill Rain in January (1990)
4. Fall from Grace (1991)
5. Prized Possessions (1993)
6. A Touch of Panic (1994)
7. Mother Love (1995)
8. Strangers Among Us (1995)
9. Acts of Murder (1997)
June 7th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
I really enjoyed this and Ted Wood’s Reid Bennett series, the setting was different, and the writing solid. I only wish both series had run longer and had greater success.
June 7th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
There were ten Reid Bennett books and nine in the Karl Alberg series, neither of which is too shabby when you compare them to many other series that got cut short a lot sooner, but you can still wish they were longer.
Of the Ted Wood books, I’ve read half, but of the Wright books, none of them sound familiar, alas. I always meant to give one a try, and I’m certainly tempted now.
— Steve
June 7th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
I’m about the same on the Wood books with the exception I also read the two ‘Jack Barnao’ books in the Locke series (ironically for LOST fans, John Locke). I’ve only read the first three of the Wright books, though I should look up the rest.
Yes, both had a good run, but based on the quality of the work it should have been more.
June 8th, 2010 at 5:50 am
I’ve read the first 9 of Wood’s Reid Bennett books but couldn’t get my hands on the last one for a reasonable price the last time I tried. I also read the first of the three Barnao books.
I’ve always meant to try Wright but like Steve I never have. Her first book, The Suspect, won the Edgar for Best Novel.