Usually I don’t do book reviews and I promise you that it will remain an exception on this blog, but the author is an old friend of mine and I like what he has written.
I read the book in one afternoon, and I will read it again. And most likely a third time, still. While reading I was smiling, laughing, grinning and now and then frowning. A murder occurs, but there is more to the story than just one mystery to be solved. There is Skip, a a rather self-centered and awkward person, yearning to be recocgnised as an artist. He is also insecure, creative and gifted and not prepared to make a choice. There is his girlfriend Gudrun, whom he hangs on to even though he is not very attracted to her. She personifies logic and reason, and while Skip enjoys her company he is drawn to to another woman, fun loving, dominant and erotic.
The novel will give you some insight into academic life and contraception methods in the 80ies and just when you think there will be no more surprises you will be drawn into science (fiction) and phantasy.
The end is touching and conciliatory and somehow very down to earth.
So, you will neither find a typical crime story, nor a thriller, but you will find a story with depth and humor. Herb’s language is precise and to the point, each word carefully chosen and delightful to read. If you have some spare time I recommend giving it a try, and if you like what you read, then you might also enjoy Herb’s poems, but that is a different matter.
Trina's North Germany 