Jamaica Run: A Joe Cinquez Mystery

The second Joe Cinquez mystery (after The Case of the Ashanti Gold) is complicated enough to make The Maltese Falcon seem a child's puzzle. Narrator Cinquez, a black private eye, is hired by a mysterious, beautiful young Jamaican woman to help her with some unnamed trouble. He also agrees to investigate a problem his Brooklyn landlady hasregarding her land in Jamaica. In short order, Joe's landlady is murdered, along with several Jamaicans who have voiced concern over possible land-grabs on the island. Cinquez goes to Jamaica and is involved in a hectic, convoluted story that touches on a new strain of super-ganja, New York City and Jamaican politics, voodoo, black market money deals and multiple killings. The pace is breathtaking and there are dozens of characters, most of them shady. West Indian life in Brooklyn and Mason's gift for snappy dialogue are enjoyable, but some readers may be overwhelmed by the plethora of incident. (October 19)