Civil Twilight: A Darcy Lott Mystery [Hardcover]

Susan Dunlap (Author)

Book Description

Series: Darcy Lott Mystery | Publication Date: August 1, 2009

San Francisco stunt double Darcy Lott specializes in creating the illusion of serious danger. But when her lawyer brother calls and asks her to wine and dine a mysterious client, the danger is no illusion.

Darcy takes an instant liking to the client, Karen Johnson, but there are too many unanswered questions. Karen claims to be getting a divorce, but Darcy’s brother Gary doesn’t handle divorces. And when he insists that their older brother John, a cop, must not know of their meeting, Darcy’s red flags are raised. Who is this woman? And why does she need a high-powered lawyer?

Soon, a murder shocks the city and John is the primary suspect. With John and Gary both in hiding and the police anxious to pin the death on John, Darcy finds herself with no one she can trust. Desperate for an end to the madness, she delves deep into Karen’s past, only to uncover a scheme even more shocking than murder itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Dunlap's absorbing third mystery to feature San Francisco stuntwoman Darcy Lott (after 2008's Hungry Ghosts), Darcy's lawyer brother, Gary, persuades Darcy to entertain Karen Johnson, a mysterious client of his. Karen claims to be in the midst of divorcing her former football star husband, who turns out to have known her as Alison. Later, Karen appears to commit suicide by jumping off a high-rise building onto a busy freeway. Why would Karen kill herself? As Darcy probes into Karen's past, she uncovers Karen had a number of false identities, possibly including Sonora Eades, the accused killer of a famous cookbook author stabbed 25 years earlier. Darcy, a practicing Buddhist, keeps recalling a koan question Karen mentioned during their brief acquaintance, How do you step off the hundred-foot pole? Dunlap's Zen-spirited crime-solver finds a complicated answer via a scary confrontation with an unexpected killer. (Aug.)
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Review

"Dunlap has created an engaging new female detective. Fans of her Kiernan O'Shaughnessy series will welcome Dunlap back and eagerly await Darcy's next case."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582434522
• ISBN-13: 978-1582434520
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,818,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous San Francisco treat, August 2, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Civil Twilight: A Darcy Lott Mystery (Hardcover)

In San Francisco lawyer Gary Lott persuades his stuntwoman sister Darcy to do him a favor; he asks her to occupy his client Karen Johnson while concealing what she does from their sibling John the cop. Though she has a zillion questions Darcy meets Karen, who says she is divorcing her spouse former football star Matt, but Gary is not a divorce lawyer.

Not long after her meeting with Darcy, Karen leaps from a high-rise building onto a freeway. Her suicide bewilders Darcy; so she investigates the woman. Darcy learns that Karen had numerous identities, but the one most stunning is that of Sonora Eades, who allegedly stabbed to death a noted cookbook author over a quarter of a century ago.

Zen Buddhism is the key to solving the murder, the suicide, the multiple identities and the key question of "How do you step off the hundred-foot pole?" Fans will enjoy seeing San Francisco through the eyes of the heroine as she brings her Buddhist perspective to landmarks. Brisk with a great final twisted confrontation to a terrific whodunit and a surprising killer, CIVIL TWILIGHT is a fabulous San Francisco treat.

Harriet Klausner