California Bear, by Duane SwierczynskiRead about the other titles on the list at The Rap Sheet.
I generally hate serial-killer novels. Too often they’re simply workarounds for lightweights who want to skip over the tough job of creating credible villains. But Swierczynski does the heavy lifting here, because he’s after much bigger game. This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco—he ain’t foolin’ around.
Sure, there’s the obligatory hunt for a serial killer, but that's just the corkboard for this author to pin a whole lot of things to, including:
— A multiple murderer known as the “California Bear,” who vanished four decades ago but is now coming out of retirement.
— An upcoming true-crime documentary by some scruple-free filmmakers about that slayer coming out of retirement.
— Cato Hightower, a crooked former cop who smells money, and isn’t beyond a little extortion to get what he wants.
— Jack Queen, a recently released ex-convict and single parent who’s trying to do right by his 15-year-old daughter.
— Jeanie Hightower, Cato’s beleaguered wife, a genealogist unwillingly dragged into her husband’s schemes.
— A slew of California Bear online fans and true-crime podcasters, plus a handful of real-life wannabes and copycats gumming up the works.
— The Girl Detective (aka Matilda), Jack Queen’s aforementioned daughter, a brainiac problem solver, confined to a hospital bed with a bad case of leukemia. And the prognosis is not good.
Along the way, Southern California writer Swierczynski...[read on]
--Marshal Zeringue
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