Book Review: Dancing Made Easy

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Dancing Made Easy     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Phillip DePoy
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Psychic   Private Investigator
Series: Flap Tucker # 4
Dell, Nov 1999, $5.99, 292 pp.

He claims to be easy going and laid back. He swears that he is content with relaxing during the day and sleeping during the night. However, in truth Atlanta private detective Flap Tucker spends all of his time on his cases, leaving him with no leisure time. He is not a normal sleuth as most people who know him call him a psychic. He begs to differ, insisting that he just meditates to clear his mind of everything but what he seeks.

This time Flap is involved in a strange case even by his weird standard. A young hooker is killed and left hanging on a pole by an apron, not a rope. Pinned to the body is a note saying: The Tarantella. The next victim is an artist who is found in the identical manner with a note stating The Tango. A robbery occurred quite a while ago in which three toxins were stolen. The first two were used to murder the victims. Flap uses his gift to seek the link between the deaths and the CDC before the third deadly poison is used.

Although the story line is not linear (it takes several unexpected and unusual detours), DANCING MADE EASY is one of Phillip DePoy's best works. There is a surreal feel to the plot that makes everything seem just out of focus, including people who are not what they seem to be. The who-done-it employs a gothic overlay that imbues a sense of foreboding into the whole story line, sending chills up and down the reader's spine. Mr. DePoy is putting Atlanta on the fictional detective map due to his delightful characters and the troubles they create for themselves.

Harriet Klausner

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