Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
A journalist risks life and limband heartbreakas she investigates the disappearance of her fianc in this assured thriller from first-time novelist Coleman. After Kenneth Lawson deserts African American Atlanta journalist Patricia Conley on their wedding day, she finds clues that suggest he may not have had a choice. Lawson had claimed to be a professor between positions, but the note and rare diamond ring he leaves for her indicate that his life was far more complex. So do the bloodstains in the car that took him out of her life. A fiercely self-reliant, recovering alcoholic who protects herself with a rough and ready wit, Conley gradually unearths a transcontinental genetic engineering conspiracy behind Lawson's disappearance, learns to trust again and, along the way, meditates on what it means to be a successful black woman today. Although Coleman occasionally bogs down in scientific detail, her inventive, funny debut makes it clear that she knows how to keep the pages turning. Author tour. (Mar.)
Kirkus Reviews
A children's book author turns her hand to the adult suspense novel—with mixed results. Proud African-American journalist and inveterate single woman Patricia Conley has finally found a man—a man so fine that she's supposed to be meeting him at the Fulton County Probate Court in her hometown of Decatur, Georgia, so they can get married and spend the rest of their lives together. But when Patricia shows up at their appointed time, sporting an orchid corsage she's bought herself, Kenneth Lawson is nowhere to be seen. Several hours later, Patricia has to admit the obvious, but on the way home from the courthouse she spots Kenneth in a romantic French restaurant with another woman! Worse, she's waked up the next day by a pair of detectives wanting to know the scoop behind her car—which has been found abandoned and dripping with blood. Only her love for the martial arts affords her a release of tension and anger, but the relief is temporary; soon Patricia is plunged into a mystery that leads her into a dangerous world she couldn't have imagined. Identical twins play a major role in the intricate story, but the evil goings-on are mostly a result of the myths and beliefs of the ancient tribe Dogon, from a part of Africa that is today Mali. A romance with Detective Jeff Samuels becomes a classic case of mixing business with pleasure, and events such as the disappearance of a Frenchwoman by the name of Claudette Duvet and the discovery by Patricia of a safety deposit box left to her care by Kenneth create head-spinning confusion. Skillfully written, but with a welter of incongruous elements, from black belt karate to Judgement Day, the supernatural, interracial issues, murder,astrology, and genetic engineering.
