Poverty Bay (Thomas Black Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Lots of holes from the very beginning of this one
Review: Emerson writes hardboiled well plotted mysteries and this is one. Some of his descriptions are memorable--"Tyner wore an undistinguished gray suit with a tie that lay on his bony chest like a lizard mashed under a truck tire....He was staring at the floor wondering what other foul dishes fate had yet to ladle up." One of my criticisms of his prior novel is that the characters were abnormal. In this book he has two "normal" people-they appear as neighbors on about a page and a half. One of the principal plot elements is a description of the down and out. This was not of much interest to me and Emerson did not include any "tricks" bums might use to make it more interesting. However, I keep reading and buying the books so Emerson is doing more right than wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Bleak tale of the homeless in Seattle
Review: Poverty Bay is a solid enough mystery wrapped in a depressing ambiance. In this second book in the series, Thomas Black is hired to locate a missing man, Lance. Lance failed to meet his black girlfriend at the marriage license bureau. It turns out that Lance is the sole heir to a 15 million dollar fortune who has lived as a street person for the last few years. Hence, Thomas follows a trail through both the homeless life of Seattle and the black sub-culture as he seeks Lance.

This was a pretty good read. The clues, while sometimes pretty improbable, turn up regularly. Still, there's no glamour in this tale or humor.

Rating:
Summary: Poverty Bay
Review: This is the second novel in the Thomas Black series by Earl Emerson. This book has a strong plot and Emerson describes the atmosphere of Seattle to perfection in this book. Lance Tyner is the heir to his grandfather's fortune of $15 million. When Tyner diappears, Black investigates, and goes to some dreary places where the dregs of humanity struggle to stay alive. This is a strong addition to the series which began with "The Rainy City." Black and his friend, Kathy Birchfield, are likeable and believeable characters.

Rating:
Summary: Poverty Bay
Review: This is the second novel in the Thomas Black series by Earl Emerson. This book has a strong plot and Emerson describes the atmosphere of Seattle to perfection in this book. Lance Tyner is the heir to his grandfather's fortune of $15 million. When Tyner diappears, Black investigates, and goes to some dreary places where the dregs of humanity struggle to stay alive. This is a strong addition to the series which began with "The Rainy City." Black and his friend, Kathy Birchfield, are likeable and believeable characters.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of holes from the very beginning of this one
Review: Very tiresome reading of this one since it got so many holes from the very beginning without any appropriate logic and explanation. Trying very hard to create a cool p.i. sometimes might only left bad taste for a thinking reader. Gulping up blindly without thinking while reading a detective story would not good for your health, at least not for your brain.