In this fourth mystery starring Darcy Lott, a Buddhist stuntwoman working in San Francisco, the heroine’s sometime boyfriend, stunt driver Damon Guthrie, almost messes up a dangerous stunt at the Port of Oakland and then winds up dead in San Francisco. Darcy investigates Damon’s murder and quickly discovers that he had a life and home unknown to her. Meanwhile, Darcy’s family, including lawyer brother Gary and cop brother John, want her to search for Mike, their long-missing brother, which means trying to learn why he disappeared in the first place. The truth of what happened to Damon lies in the past, in a long-ago burglary in San Francisco, at a stunt ranch hidden in the Southern California desert, and in the words to a mysterious koan. Dunlap melds the two plots with the drama of Darcy continuing to work on rebuilding shattered relationships with her siblings, with information about stunt work, and with interesting bits of Zen Buddhist lore. An entertaining outing from tough yet vulnerable Darcy. --Kat Kan
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
In Dunlap's subdued fourth mystery to feature San Francisco stunt double Darcy Lott (after 2009's Civil Twilight), Darcy's on-again/off-again boyfriend and fellow stuntman, Damon Guthrie, confesses part of a shameful secret about his past. Before revealing more, he asks the definitely alarmed Darcy to bring John, her cop brother, to a meeting at the Palace of the Fine Arts. En route to the meeting, Damon dies in a suspicious car accident, and once again Darcy turns sleuth. Darcy also resumes her overdue search for her brother, Mike, who's been missing for more than 20 years. As she nimbly juggles both investigations, Darcy's snooping puts her in the crosshairs of those responsible for Damon's murder. While Dunlap's appealing Zen detective retains her cool, some readers may find it hard to believe that the astute Darcy would date a man for six or seven years without knowing more about him than she does. A far-fetched subplot about collectible movie memorabilia adds some local color.
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From
In this fourth mystery starring Darcy Lott, a Buddhist stuntwoman working in San Francisco, the heroine’s sometime boyfriend, stunt driver Damon Guthrie, almost messes up a dangerous stunt at the Port of Oakland and then winds up dead in San Francisco. Darcy investigates Damon’s murder and quickly discovers that he had a life and home unknown to her. Meanwhile, Darcy’s family, including lawyer brother Gary and cop brother John, want her to search for Mike, their long-missing brother, which means trying to learn why he disappeared in the first place. The truth of what happened to Damon lies in the past, in a long-ago burglary in San Francisco, at a stunt ranch hidden in the Southern California desert, and in the words to a mysterious koan. Dunlap melds the two plots with the drama of Darcy continuing to work on rebuilding shattered relationships with her siblings, with information about stunt work, and with interesting bits of Zen Buddhist lore. An entertaining outing from tough yet vulnerable Darcy. --Kat Kan