She Treads Softly: Dante's Poison

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Dante's Poison

Dante's Poison by Lynne Raimondo

Prometheus Books: 5/6/2014
ebook, 271 pages
ISBN-13: 9781616148799
lynneraimondo.com
Mark Angelotti Novel #2

Blind psychiatrist Mark Angelotti has just enrolled in a drug trial that holds out hope of restoring his eyesight when he again becomes entangled in a case that is rocking the Chicago legal community.

After defending the manufacturer of the powerful antipsychotic drug Lucitrol against product-liability claims, attorney Jane Barrett has become somewhat of an expert on the controversial medication. So when her lover, investigative journalist Rory Gallagher, collapses from a fatal dose of the same drug, it falls to Hallie Sanchez, Barrett’s oldest friend, to defend her on murder charges.

Amid growing doubts about her friend’s innocence, Hallie recruits Mark Angelotti to help her discredit the testimony of a crucial eyewitness. The pair succeeds in obtaining Barrett’s release, but at a dreadful price.

Mark sets out to investigate who else may have wanted the journalist out of the way. As he gets closer to the truth, he realizes the killer is still on the loose. But two questions remain for Mark: Will the drug trial succeed in restoring his eyesight? More important, will he live long enough to see this case to its end?

My Thoughts:

Dante's Poison by Lynne Raimondo is a highly recommended second mystery novel featuring Mark Angelotti.

Mark Angelotti, the troubled Chicago psychiatrist who first made his appearance in Dante's Woods, has recently been diagnosed with an illness that has caused blindness. After having trouble adjusting - or rather avoiding adjusting to his new situation, Mark enrolls in a drug trial that he hopes will help restore his sight. In the meantime Mark agrees to help his friend Hallie Sanchez investigate the murder of journalist Rory Gallagher, as well as join the defense of Jane Barrett, who is accused of the murder. Then, adding to the complications are the two teen suicides that may share some connection.

Dante's Poison is set in Chicago and the city is as much a part of the novel as the characters and sets a vibrant background to the main action. FYI: The major pharmaceutical companies take a hit in this plot. The plot is full of enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Raimondo is a strong writer who does an excellent job moving her plot forward quickly. For a mystery under 300 pages, she packs a lot of action into the pages. It's also noteworthy that Raimondo excels at capturing Mark's difficulties adjusting to his new disability, and his psychological expertise. She also shines in describing the legal system and the accompanying details.

It's nice to read a mystery that sets a fast pace and throws in plenty of surprises.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Prometheus Books for review purposes.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.