Lambert’s
powerful third Whitney Logan novel (after 1996’s
Soultown and 1991’s Dogtown) concludes the
story of the troubled Los Angeles attorney. Having
scrambled for years to get her career off the
ground, Logan, thwarted by drink and depression,
becomes the court-appointed lawyer for Tony Red
Wolf, recently arrested on misdemeanor charges.
Logan finds him surly and attractive, and soon
has him out on bail. That evening he calls her
to a meeting place where he shows her the butchered
body of one of his female friends, claiming to
have nothing to do with the murder. Unsure whether
to believe him, Logan delves into the little-examined
subculture of Native Americans living in Los Angeles
while slipping ever further into her own dark
world of personal demons. With its memorable characters,
sharp dialogue and ever-increasing mood of uncertainty,
fear and menace, the narrative builds to a startling
and fantastical conclusion. Lambert was the pseudonym
of Douglas Anne Munson (1948–2003), whose
tragic story her literary executor describes in
an afterword. Michael Connelly provides an appreciative
introduction.
|