Book Review: Pictures

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Pictures     Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Robert Daley
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural   Hard Boiled
Harcourt, Nov 2006, $24.00

As Antonio Murano’s wife, European Duchess Maria Cristina, goes into labor, paparazzi Georges Grizzard takes pictures of the former tennis coach in close passionate proximity with beautiful bimbo, Gigi Meyer. Georges offers first dibs to the cheating spouse for $100,000, but Tony fails to come up with the money so Grizzard sells the photos to a tabloid.

Outraged Duke Augustin II, who already detests Tony for a lot of valid reasons, kicks this common trash out of the family home. However, his wife, Lady Charlotte cannot believe Tony could be this stupid so wonders if her son-in-law is being framed. She hires American security firm Probe, Inc. who have an earned reputation for discrete investigations, to uncover the truth. Probe, Inc. sends Vincent Conte to Europe to handle the case because he speaks Italian. No one offers him any information including Grizzard and Gigi until the peripheral players start dying, making the former NYPD cop wonder if there is something even more sinister than destroying a marriage.

Though lacking the stark suspense of Robert Daley's previous urban mysteries and nonfiction, PICTURES is a solid investigative tale starring a defrocked former cop struggling with a horde of Europeans, who refuse to cooperate even in some cases when death seems imminent. Vincent follows the money and corpses all over Western Europe as he tries to determine whether Tony was set up as Charlotte believes or just being Tony as the Duke accepts. Though somewhat more straightforward in plotting than usual, fans of Robert Daley will enjoy this European holiday thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner