Skip to main content

Trespasser 90%

Tana could have used a more ruthless editor, as this seems unnecessarily long which makes it impossible for it to be a true page-turner unless you are willing to stay up all night.  Lags in places, too, but flies in others.  So, Rory and Lucy give evidence that makes McCann our man.  We, Antoinette and Moran are all sure.  McCann is grilled by Antoinette and Moran--good, tense scene until he clams up.

Then Breslin walks in.  He provides an alternative version of the murder with Rory as the murderer.  He demonstrates to Moran and Antoinette how difficult it would be for them to prove that his version isn't as accurate as their version with McCann as murderer.  And . . . they see he is right.  Shocking development because we, as readers, have credited Antoinette with a great solve and are delighted that she and Moran are close friends again.  And now, it has all unraveled . . . again.

A and Moran's theory.  Ainsleen has set up McCann for a fall because he kept from her and her mom the truth about her father who had disappeared. McCann knew Dad was shacked up with a new woman, but didn't tell Ainsleen's mother.  Ainsleen's childhood ruined because McCann lied about basic history of her life.  So, she plans to seduce him, get him to leave his wife and family, then dump him and ruin his life.  He comes upon her, sees she's getting ready to entertain another man, loses his mind in anger, kills her, wipes the place clean, and conspires to blame Rory.

Breslin's counter:  McCann was never leaving his wife. He assumed Ainsleen would or might have another man.  Sure he'd be hurt, but he's a grown man. He's not going to go ballistic and kill.  He shows up at back door of Ainsleen's house.  Goes in.  She's dead.  He gets rid of all evidence he's ever been there, leaves. He calls Breslin who calls it in to the police.  Before he leaves, McCann turns the "cooker" off so that the police can come in and find evidence to nail the real murderer--Rory the Stalker.

Both stories work with the facts.
Interesting ending coming up.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin . . . finished

 Follows Sadie and Sam (Mazer) from childhood to mid-thirties when both are feeling old and a bit out of it in the gaming world.  Characters are well-rounded, develop throughout the novel in interesting way.  Plot is involved but sensible.  Not a single, "Oh, come on!" moment.  The book could have been faster paced. Odd, since the main topic is video games which are not for their speed of engagement and Gabrielle Zevin clearly knows her video games. Recommended by Michael Connelly in an interview.  He also has Bosch pick up the book in his novel, Resurrection Walk, as Bosch tails a possible witness to a crime as she moves through a bookstore. Sadie and Sam do not get together at the end, which is good.   Marx killed by homophobic nutcase who really wants to kill Sam, but Sam isn't there. Marx is father of Sadie's child. 

The Secret, Book and Scone Society

Cozy mystery with a "women are superior creatures" underpinning. The four women have all had their struggles, which we will learn about one-by-one, but they all remain/emerge wiser, kinder, smarter, etc. than the men in the novel, most of whom are corrupt, narrow-minded, unfeeling and potentially violent. (Nora's encounter with the paramedic-hunk is the exception, though it occurs to me that he may be the murderer.) Even Estelle, who uses sex to get what she wants, is portrayed positively.  The men are comically manipulated by her curves.  In one scene, she goes skinny-dipping with a married man but is rescued by her buddies before she actually has sex with the guy. Nora, our main character, is told by her female friends that she is beautiful despite her scars. No male says this to Nora because males are just too crass to see beyond surface beauty.  I hope I'm wrong and the book is more nuanced. If not, then this author is a one-and-done writer for me.