Jane Waterhouse

So, the blurb for this book had an intriguing premise. A serial killer hiding body parts in his sculptures. This actually turns out to be not a very big part of the story. We open up with Garner, the heroine, researching her latest true crime novel featuring Jeff, a young man who carves crosses into his victims. When Jeff is found not guilty, Garner goes back home and gets involved with the story of Dane Blackmoor, a sculptor, with whom Garner shares a past.

Much of the book is then told in flash backs. How Garner met Dane when she was a young teen. We also delve into Garner's dysfunctional family life with a father who is a superstar lawyer. By the end of the book, all the story lines come together in a climactic way.

I liked the character of Garner, but everyone around her seemed like a giant jerk. Even her teen age daughter is obnoxious, although you could argue that she is just being a teen. All the men in the story are horrible people.… (meer)

Brash Books is trying to publish "the best crime novels in existence", and with "Graven Images" they are certainly living up to their claim. "Graven Images" is one of the best books I have read this year.

Garner Quinn writes true crime books in the mode of Truman Capote. She chooses contemporary crimes and follows the accused through the trial to the end. She is very good at her work and lives a comfortable life with her daughter and their housekeeper.

Garner's early life was not so comfortable, however, not because of economic need but because her high-powered lawyer father was emotionally distant and neglectful to the point of being abusive. Garner has overcome most of the pain of her childhood but not the memories. Nor has she reconciled with her father.

Quinn writes about the suspect, not just about the trial and the text for book about Jeff Turner, on trial for the "Holy Ghost" murders is ready for the final chapter. As the concluding arguments are winding toward a not-guilty verdict, and a much anticipated vacation for Quinn and her teenage daughter, news comes that a shipping accident has smashed one of Dane Blackmoor's sculptures and a human hand has been found inside. Garner's mind races back to her adolescent fantasies of Blackmoor as her real father, and the afternoon on which he horribly misunderstood the direction of her fascination with him. Should she, could she, take this case?

Garner Quinn comes alive in this book. Smart, focused, cranky, compassionate, her no-nonsense approach is real and true. I think the portrayal is a an amazing feat of writing and I recommend this book on that alone. But the plot is pretty good too.

I received a review copy of "Graven Images" by Jane Waterhouse (Brash) directly from the publisher. it was first published by Putnam in 1995.… (meer)