Customer Reviews

Distemper

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Beth Saulnier's second novel is at least as good as her first, "Reliable Sources." This time she tries her hand at a police procedural (which, unlike a "drawing room" mystery, doesn't start with the premise that the killer is one of a small group of characters you already know about)... and she nails it right out of the box.

One of the great pleasures of this book is getting to know narrator/protagonist Alex Bernier even better; her witty, informed, but vulnerable personality is three-dimensional and fairly leaps off the page. Like all good protagonists, she's good at getting herself into danger. But sometimes how she gets out of it is so surprising that I have to wonder if Saulnier has ever read any formulaic mysteries before, because she sure isn't shy about breaking the mold when she writes mysteries of her own.

Publishers Weekly said in their review of "Distemper" - "If ever a mystery novel about serial mutilation could be called delightful, this one could." And they've got it right - it's gripping, harrowing, and occasionally downright disturbing, but above all it's thoroughly enjoyable.

I forget, exactly, how it was that I came to own a copy of Beth Saulnier's first novel (Reliable Sources), but I can tell you that it was grudgingly. Living (as she does) in Ithaca, NY, I'd seen enough of her cable access movie review show and read enough of her columns in the local paper to know that I tended to disagree with her assessment of things. Reliable Sources got me, though; hook, line, and sinker...partially, I will fully admit, because of the fact that I, too, have spent time working the beat as a reporter in Ithaca and recognized our "local color" with great hilarity. So, when I saw that Distemper was out, I immediately bought my copy and promptly devoured it within 24 hours.

Beth's dialogue is on-the-money real, her humor is just twisted and jaded enough to suit my own, and Alex Bernier is the right combination of gutsy, stupid, smart, talented, and just plain old lucky to be a believable character...not to mention a crack reporter. This book is well-crafted and full of excellent symmetry of plot points that do not, as many do, jump out and scream "this is a plot point!" at you. Plenty of good old-fashioned writer deceit kept me guessing about the killer throughout and making wild statments of accusation about various characters until all was revealed. I love to be had by an author. It's so much more satisfying than figuring out the whole thing on page twelve and then waiting for the rest to unfold. Beth did an excellent job of screwing with my head.

If I have one disappointment in Distemper, though, it is the revelation. Three hundred some-odd pages into this fabulous mystery--and with less than one hundred to go--everything comes to light. From there out, it's a race to page 388 and I could almost envision Beth's editor lurking near her keyboard, hassling the writer to hurry up and wrap the darn thing up, already. I came out of it feeling a bit like I'd just been picked up by a golf cart at the 24th mile of the Boston Marathon.

Bottom line, of course, is that I will anxiously await Beth's next novel and devour that with similar intensity. I will be hoping, though, for a slightly more satisfying ending. And I have absolute faith that Beth can deliver it.

The only problem with this book is that I lost sleep because of it. I skipped right over the chapter breaks, rather than put it down and turn off my light. Seriously, the term "page turner" has never been more appropriate. Plus it was actually scary in a serious roller-coaster sort of way...and I don't even own a dog (huh? Don't worry, just read it). Alex Bernier- the heroine- is fun and human, even better than in the other Beth Saulnier book I read (and that one was really good, too, Reliable Sources). We're not talking War and Peace here, but for a cold night under the covers, a warm day on the beach, or 30 minutes during lunch, the Bernier mysteries can't be beat!

RELIABLE SOURCES, Saulnier's first book, was a good read which I read over the course of a week, but DISTEMPER grabbed me right from the beginning. I couldn't put it down and read the book in just two days. The writing is much sharper and the character development more adept. Alex Bernier and the denizens of the local newspaper are back on the trail of another killer. Like in the first book, Alex becomes entangled in another series of murders and lets her curiosity get the better of her as she pursues the killer. A thoroughly enjoyable book that I recommend to everyone. To maximize the experience, I suggest reading RELIABLE SOURCES first because there are references to it in DISTEMPER, but the book stands on its own. A friend read DISTEMPER first and still enjoyed it immensely.

If you are a dog person, "Distemper" will grab you by the scruff of your neck from its opening pages. And if you're not a dog person, it will still grab you by the scruff of your neck. Literate, fun, compelling, and downright thought-provoking are adjectives that came to mind as I prepared these comments. I judge my mysteries by how early in the book I correctly identify the bad person/people; in a good one, you want to do so near the end, but not from so far out in left field that you never had a chance. [That's just MY opinion, of course.] In "Distemper", it's perfect. The setting, of course, is Ithaca, N.Y. ("Gabriel, N.Y.") and "Benson University" is Cornell. But even a Stanford graduate will like this one. Author Beth Saulnier has a near-perfect ear for dialog. And she knows her dogs ! She also chooses interesting names for her characters, an assortment of interesting, if neurotic, people. Rover, sit ! Do not eat this book ! Read it !

The book grabs you, and alex is a likeable character. I basically read it through in a day. I do think, however, that the resolution was a little hard to swallow. so, on the whole, characters are good, pace is good, solution to mystery needs a little work.

In this second Alex Bernier mystery, Alex meets her new significant other after she runs into the second corpse to be found near the Gabriel (Cornell) campus. Brian Cody is the Gabriel policeman to whom she tells her story after the macabre encounter with the second victim. There is an instant attraction between the two that develops along with the search for the serial killer. This series gets better with each entry- read them all!

In this second Alex Bernier mystery, Alex meets her significant other after happening upon the second corpse to be found near the Benson (Cornell) campus. Brian Cody (Cody) is the Gabriel (Ithaca) policeman to whom she tells her story after the macabre encounter with the second victim. There is an instant attraction between the two that develops along with the cleverly designed search for the serial killer. This series gets better with each entry.

Alex is a a reporter/sleuth, with and intensity that lies somewhere in between Eve Dallas' brutal dedication (JD Robb's "In Death" books) and Stephanie Plum's bumbling ineptitude (Janet Evanovich-"One for the Money" etc.) She stumbles on the second body, but her brilliant intuition leads her where she needs to go (sort of). She doesn't have quite the drive and ambition, but neither does she wish to. She loves her small town life, her friends, and her position as the second best reporter on a small college town paper.

The book really does it's best work on the relationships between the characters, and on creating the very believable atmosphere of a college town in upstate New York. This was the first one of Ms. Saulnier's books taht I've read, but I just bought the new one, "The Fourth Wall." Already, it has moved to the top of my TBR pile. Buy them both, and read them.

Gabriel Monitor reporter Alex Bernier is still recovering from the homicide case that led to the loss of the only man she ever loved (see RELIABLE SOURCES). Alex may have cracked the case and got the scoop of the year, but she knows what it cost her. Alex does not expect to ever become involved in any murder cases again since her small Upstate New York town rarely sees any crime, let alone those violent in nature. She still loves her job and town, and enjoys the comfort of her three canines and four felines and four roommates.

However, her contentment ends when she finds a corpse on a bicycle path in the nearby forest. The victim's clothing has been neatly folded along side the body. This is the second such murder in a few weeks, leaving a feast for the wire services. A serial killer appears to be on the loose, as three more lives are snuffed out. This includes one of Alex's roommates. Alex works with the sexy crime detective to uncover the identity of the perpetrator.

Readers who like a thrilling, action packed tale with a touch of romance will fully enjoy DISTEMPER. The likable heroine is hip while the hero is sensitive, treating her as his equal. The who-done-it is well written and cleverly executed as the various subplots provide fascinating sidebars that ultimately enhance the main story line. Beth Saulnier shows her talent will provide her a shining future among mystery lovers.

Harriet Klausner