After their Hawaiian escapades in Ambrose Bierce and the Death of Kings
(2001), the irascible author of The Devil's Dictionary
(fitting definitions from which head each chapter) and his Boswell, Tom Redmond, find murder and hanky-panky aplenty back home in California. At the behest of millionaire publisher Willie Hearst, the pair investigates two murders—that of a photographer in Hearst's employ and that of a randy British yachtsman (known as a "one-eyed jack")—as well as the theft of some intimate photos of Hearst's gorgeous mistress. Redmond's attentions are divided between the chase and his latest love, Eliza Lindley, directress of the Stockton Street Mission and savior of Chinese girls from evil slavers. Unsurprisingly, a connection between the murders and the slavers soon emerges. Like Bierce, Hall is fond of coincidences, some of which strain credulity, but few readers will mind amid all the driving action, including midnight revels in Sausalito and white-water chases across San Francisco Bay. Also like Bierce, who delivers a gem of a lecture on good writing in chapter two, Hall has become a master of succinct description ("Miss Lindley... smelled of soap"; "Stone rearranged his graceful slouch"). The fate of Willie Hearst, women's honor and Tom Redmond's fragile heart hang in the balance, and Hall keeps all pots boiling and in concert right to the end. (On sale Jan. 27)
Forecast:Hall has attracted good notices from the likes of Thomas Pynchon, Amy Tan and Michael Chabon. Expect additional sales from non-mystery fans.
