Thu 22 Jun 2017
Archived Review: JOHN CROWE (DENNIS LYNDS) – When They Kill Your Wife.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Reviews[5] Comments
JOHN CROWE – When They Kill Your Wife. Buena Costa County series #5. Dodd Mead, hardcover, 1977. No paperback edition.
As seems true about all the inhabitants of California, the residents of fictional Buena Costa county live in a world of intricately tangled relationships, the kind that too often result in murder. Even though they’d been separated for a year, when Paul Sobers’ wife is killed, he’s compelled to find out why, and a tightly closed corner of the world yields many secrets as he starts digging up the past.
The result is a tale that’s even more complex and tortuous than the one Ross Macdonald tells, and occasionally the going gets heavy. The ending is not fair to the reader, but while the finale to a detective story sometimes comes as a letdown to the reader, this one’s actually better than any of the preceding parts — a triple-snapper!
Rating: B
The Buena Costa County series —
Another Way To Die (1972)
A Touch of Darkness (1972)
Bloodwater (1974)
Crooked Shadows (1975)
When They Kill Your Wife (1977)
Close To Death (1979)
June 22nd, 2017 at 4:05 pm
On his Thrilling Detective website, Kevin Burton Smith describes the series thusly:
“… a string of books set in a fictional jurisdiction along the southern California Coast, just north of Los Angeles. Although there are recurring characters, including [PI Lee Beckett] himself, each book focusses on a different detective or investigator, sometimes a cop, sometimes an amateur sleuth, once even a member of the Border Patrol.”
I am going to have to read this series again, not that I’ve read all of them for the first time. I don’t remember the details of this one all that well, but I do agree with my younger self that there is a strong Ross Macdonaldish feel to it.
I have been looking online, and what I’ve found so far is that the series has not received anywhere near the amount of coverage I think it deserves.
June 23rd, 2017 at 6:31 pm
I’ve never read any of this series. Have read other series by Lynds.
You make it sound quite intriguing.
June 23rd, 2017 at 8:07 pm
I’ve been hoping someone would pick up on this review and either agree, disagree, or sound intrigued by it,
We’ll count one for the the latter!
June 24th, 2017 at 1:14 am
Not my favorite Lynds series.
June 24th, 2017 at 2:13 am
And one for disagree. What I asked for, I think!