Book Review: Anonymous Rex

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Anonymous Rex     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Eric Garcia
Class/Genre:   Mystery   SF AND Fantasy   Humorous   Private Investigator
Series: Ernie & Vincent # 1
Villard, May 2001, $23.00, 276 pp.

What happened to the dinosaurs is quite simply, nothing. They never became extinct. Instead, they blended in with the faster growing "hairless ape" population. Today, dinosaurs keep the species in the closet, but take professional jobs like humans do.

For instance, Vincent Rubio, a Velociraptor hides his tail with latex, works as a private eye. Currently, Vincent struggles to make a living since the suspicious death of his partner Ernie Watson. Vincent investigates a minor arson incident at the Evolution Club that left a straight human dead. If he can stay away from the addicting basil long enough to follow the clues, Vincent might solve the mystery behind Ernie's death that happens to be tied to his present case.

Weird, satirical, and amusing - absolutely! However, what makes ANONYMOUS REX superb is not the insider puns or jokes, nor the comic book like heroics, or even the cleverly developed Vincent the Raptor. Those are prime elements in a well-written novel that will appeal to the mystery and science fiction crowds. However, the key to the tale is that author Eric Garcia does all this while paying homage to the private sleuth sub-genre. Readers get a different type of hero living in a different type of world inside a narrative loaded with amusement, winks, and irony all wrapped within a fabulous investigative tale or is that tail?

Harriet Klausner

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