Publishers Weekly
Those who admire risk, take note: two authors at the top of their game have done something quite new. Those who fear change, take heart: the results are just fine. Faye and Jonathan Kellerman, each with a slew of bestsellers, have collaborated on a volume comprising two mystery novellas. Each stands on its own, with separate settings (Santa Fe and Boston) and separate pairs of homicide detectives. To further heighten the distinction, the book has two front covers, with the authors alternating first billing and a "flip" format. It's intriguing to imagine how these two pros went about writing together, but it's even more fun just to jump in and enjoy. The characters are all new, and so are the locales; that in itself is worthy of admiration. Surprisingly, the two novellas are uneven in quality. The Boston piece, about the mysterious death of a young basketball star, suffers from wordiness and a somewhat murky plot, troubles that short works can ill afford. But the strong Santa Fe story more than compensates, with its fully rounded characters and evocative sense of place. The final scene, haunting and heartbreaking, shows the assured hand of a master. (One-day laydown Oct. 5) Forecast: With a 300,000-copy first printing and the unusual husband-wife pairing, expect plenty of media attention and a run on bestseller lists. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
The best-selling husband-and-wife crime writers kick off a new joint venture with these two short novels, published in a single reversible volume with two different covers. In "Still Life," Santa Fe detectives Darrel Two Moons and Steve Katz investigate the murder of an art gallery owner who made enemies as quickly as art sales. Set in Boston, the reverse novel, "In the Land of Giants," follows detectives Dorothy Breton and Michael McCain as they probe the apparent shooting death of a college basketball player. Sure to appeal to new readers as well as established fans, the stories are complementary but distinctly separate and without crossover characters. In both novels, the Kellermans' collaborative writing style drives home gritty drama, compelling dialog, and believable characters. Highly recommended for most public libraries. The Kellermans live in Southern California. [See Mystery Prepub, LJ 4/1/04; the next book in the series will be published by Ballantine, Jonathan's publisher. Ed.] Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY for most public libraries. The Kellermans live in Southern California. [See Mystery Prepub, LJ 4/1/04; the next book in the series will be published by Ballantine, Jonathan's publisher. Ed.] Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
The prolific Kellermans (he: The Conspiracy Code, 2003, etc.; she: Street Dreams, 2003, etc.) jointly pen a pair of crisp, smart novellas. Writing as a team for the first time, the Kellermans get it just right: pacing, plotting, even the prose, which in the past has been shaky for both. In "Still-Life," loathsome Santa Fe art dealer Larry Gustafson is found dead by ball-peen hammer, and the SRO suspect list includes an estranged wife, a cheated painter, a brace of embittered senior citizens, and others quite as likely. Laboriously, homicide detectives Darrel Two Moons and Steve Katz begin the dispiriting process of elimination. Two Moons tells his partner about Gustafson: "We keep peeling, he keeps smelling worse." Still, they do keep on peeling. "In the Land of the Giants" moves to Boston, where another pair of determined cops cope with the case of the slain college basketball idol. But is it in fact a homicide? At first, BPD detectives Mickey McCain and Dorothy Breton consider that a no-brainer. Witnesses by the dozens saw bullets fired into the monumental body of young Julius Van Beest, and he is certainly dead. Why, then, is the ME shaking his head skeptically? What fatal flaw did an autopsy pick up that a series of X-rays missed?Two sets of blue-collar dicks, working doggedly out of hard-pressed departments in a thoroughly believable way: nothing fancy here, but oh-so-refreshingly readable.
