The Black Dove
Ken St. Andre – Library Journal: After Gus ("Old Red") and Otto ("Big Red") Amlingmeyer solved the crime but lost the client in their last case (On the Wrong Track), they found themselves down and out in San Francisco. Here, the death of their acquaintance Dr. Chan inspires Gus to deduce what happened, but no one wants this mystery solved. That doesn't stop a pair of cowboy detectives from riling up the locals with their heavy-handed investigations. Keystone Cop action and wild chases ensue until Old Red and his helpers finally put the clues together for a showdown on the waterfront. Otto tells the story with more profanity and humor than Dr. Watson ever managed, and his foot-in-a-bucket narration will keep the reader snorting with laughter until the Black Dove (a Chinese prostitute who was the last to see Chan alive) is finally found. Hockensmith has been nominated for the Edgar Award, and if he keeps writing like this, he'll win one soon.