Where to Choose

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review

When I think of detective fiction by and about black Americans, I think of Chester Himes. Further, I think of detective fiction set in the lower classes, with a lot of violence, and (in the great Himes's case, anyway) a lot of macabre humor.

But as the news folks keep reminding us, there is a new black middle class emerging in this country, one that has little in common with Chester Himes's view of America. Yes, there is still rampant racism; yes, minorities still have employment troubles. But the race wars are more subtle now, fought as much in personnel offices as in the streets.

This is a prelude to saying that Penny Mickelbury's shiny new detective novel, Where to Choose, a novel about a new kind of black America, took me to a place I'd never been before, one that I would very much like to visit again. Mickelbury is one of several important novelists writing about a new generation of black experience.

Jacaranda Estates was established several years ago as an experimental development meant to prove that blacks and Hispanics could live together in peace and contentment. So far, so good.

That is, until gang activity suddenly becomes part of the lifestyle, and some Jacaranda residents find themselves prey. What is really going on here? Is the gang really behind the violence? This is the thrust of the story.

Grayce Gibson, who lives in Jacaranda, asks her criminal-attorney daughter, Carole Ann, to fly out from Washington, D.C., and see if she can help out with this situation. Carole Ann is not only the heroine of the book but a figure we rarely find indetectivefiction — a strong, educated, ironic, and sometimes highly combative African-American woman, a fetching combination of Oprah and, say, Vanessa Williams (I'm trying to cast the movie in my head).

Mickelbury has written three previous novels, and it shows. Her style is succinct, wry, and evocative. She opens chapter four with a cinematic trick worthy of Hitchcock — following an arc of sunlight as it reveals four faces gaping down at a corpse.

She opens chapter 13 with a sociological overview of a California street filled with skaters, bodybuilders, tourists, and drifters — and knits this skillfully into her story line.

Then she comes up with one of those small grace notes that you'll remember years after you've forgotten the plot. Carole Ann is supposed to leave the keys to a Mercedes-Benz under the floor mat. Now, this is a tough-minded, strong-willed woman who is able to do virtually anything if called upon. But leave the keys to a Benz under a floor mat? In this day and age, that takes a special kind of courage — and she has to force herself to do it. It's one of those little "true" moments that is the mark of an exceptional writer.

A sturdy plot, stylish writing, a good eye for truths large and small — and lead characters you've never met before — make Where to Choose an excellent detective story. Mickelbury knows what she is about. She has a lot to say, and you'll enjoy listening to her.
—Ed Gorman
Ed Gorman's latest novels include The Day the Music Died, Daughter of Darkness, Harlot's Moon, and Black River Falls, the latter of which "proves Gorman's mastery of the pure suspense novel," says Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. ABC-TV has optioned the novel as a movie. Gorman is also the editor of Mystery Scene Magazine, which Stephen King calls "indispensable" for mystery readers.
Barnesandnoble.com

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The characters in Micklebury's (One Must Wait, etc.) provocative new mystery are a diverse group: canny detectives and lawyers, burly security experts, newlyweds and aging widows. Added to a few gang members and unscrupulous policemen, they make for an explosive and unpredictable tale. A year after her husband was murdered, Carole Ann Gibson, once a high-powered criminal defense attorney in a top D.C. law firm, is still reeling from his death, alienated, depressed and unfocused. So when her mother, Grayce, calls from Los Angeles with a pressing problem, Carole Ann is ready to fly out to help. A Chicano gang has taken over Grayce's home in the once edenic subdivision of Jacaranda Estates, a working-class, family-oriented community planned by blacks and Hispanics. Two elderly black women have been murdered, and the apathetic LAPD refuses to investigate the killings. Carole Ann's sleuthing infuriates the authorities, provokes an attack on her mother and sinks her into profound legal difficulties. Yet by probing into the violence and the community's history, she unearths some astonishing facts and discovers a new sense of family and place. Long on suspense, characterization and attitude, here's a tale that pleases from start to finish. Charlotte Sheedy Agency. (Feb.)

Library Journal

Washington criminal defense attorney Carole Gibson shakes off the slough of despond brought about by her husband's murder (One Must Wait, LJ 1/98) by fighting injustice in Los Angeles. There, Carole's mother still inhabits a former experimental neighborhood (bordering newly gentrified property) aimed at fostering racial harmony between blacks and Mexicans. Now, vandalism, muggings, and two murders threaten to vacate the area. As Carole digs into the case, she risks personal danger but finds a reason to live. An effective plot line, seamless prose, and solid characterization make this a good series continuation.

Kirkus Reviews

A second wrenching adventure for black trial lawyer Carol Ann Gibson of Washington, D.C., only a year after the death of deeply loved husband Al, whose killer she had brought to justice (One Must Wait , 1998).

A plea from her mother Grayce has sent Carol Ann back home to Jacaranda Estates—a once-peaceful neighborhood of hard-working black and Mexican families in West Los Angeles. Now, according to Grayce and friends Roberta and Angie, the last few months have brought burglaries and vandalism to the area, along with the killing of the two residents and an attack on an elderly Mrs. Asmara, still in a coma. Even the pristine playground has been turned into a meeting place for the thugs, one of whom Carol Ann dispatches in a hand-to-hand encounter. Scariest of all, though, is the apparent indifference of the LAPD to the mayhem. Meantime, a trip to Anguilla to interview original Estates owner-partner Arthur Jennings brings some revelations that cast light on crimes of the past and pinpoint the heavy-duty racket in progress at the moment. Finally, with the help from Tommy Griffin, sent to Carol by her rough, tough friend Jake Graham, a D.C. ex-homicide detective, and others, the whole ugly mess is resolved.

The storyline is often confusing, never convincing. And Carol's heroics are easier to take than her introspective forays into her own feelings (not to mention those of others). In all: an interesting setting, some attractive characters and a first-class heroine undermined by an excess of fancy plotting and psyche-searching.