If 6 Were 9: A "Militant" Mystery [Hardcover]

Jake Lamar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 2001

In the wee hours of the morning, a phone call awakens Clay Robinette, once a disgraced reporter, now a happily married, happily tenured black professor. The caller is Reggie Brogus, a famous black militant who, after a mysterious seven-year exile, remade himself as a fire-breathing conservative professor. There's a dead body in Reggie's office and he's sure it's the work of government agents looking to frame him for his radical past. He needs Clay's help and trusts Clay's wry sense of humor and famous cool head to get him out of trouble. But Clay, dragged out of his bed into the winter night, recognizes the victim -- Jennifer Wolfsheim, aka Pirate Jenny, Clay's student and, for a brief time, his mistress. Knowing he too could be implicated in Jenny's death, Clay tries to cover up his knowledge of the murder; he gives Reggie a ride out of town, goes home, and gets back into bed as though the whole episode were a nightmare. But when he wakes up in the morning, his life slowly but surely begins to fall apart. Dragged into the nvestigation in spite of himself, Clay knows he must unmask the killer before he becomes the prime suspect. Is Reggie guilty after all? Is the murder indeed linked to the FBI and a long-ago counterintelligence operation? Or is the killer someone with a sterling reputation and a hidden sadistic streak?

Part whodunit, part conspiracy thriller, part social satire, If 6 Were 9 is a funny, fast-paced novel filled with vibrant characters, unexpected plot twists, and provocative ideas about the complexities of race and politics in America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a well-received memoir (Bourgeois Blues) and two thought-provoking novels (the political thriller The Last Integrationist and the mainstream Close to the Bone) to his credit, Lamar brings the same serious concerns to his first mystery. After an incident that leads to his disgrace as a journalist, black writer Clay Robinette retreats to a post at Ohio's Arden University, a happy marriage and twin girls. His only misstep is a short affair with Pirate Jenny, a pretty student. When Jenny is strangled to death, the initial suspicion falls on another professor, Reggie Brogus, a former famous black radical now turned ultraright political shill. Reggie amply demonstrates his guilt by fleeing town. It might all have been just a bad dream for Clay, but his infidelity is exposed and Reggie's political persuasion comes into serious question. Part mystery, part academic satire and part socioracial examination, this novel never quite satisfies on any level. Since Reggie evolves into the novel's central character, the real mystery might be whether he's a true revolutionary or a secret government operative. Either way he's a wildly overblown character study. Equally implausible is the laughably cartoon Britishness of Roger Pym-Smithers, Clay's confidante and the husband of one of Reggie's more vocal critics on campus. Clay's character lacks definition, Reggie and Roger probably have too much, and poor Jenny is soon all but forgotten in a narrative hamstrung by a few too many laudable intentions. (Jan. 30)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this literary mysteryAa breakout novel for Lamar (Close to the Bone)?Asuccessful black professor Clay Robinette confronts his revolutionary pastAand becomes a murder suspect.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (January 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609605372
• ISBN-13: 978-0609605370
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,218,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Craven Images, September 5, 2001

By 

mateo52 "invisible man" (State College, Pa.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: If 6 Were 9: A "Militant" Mystery (Hardcover)

"To be a very good journalist is very hard. To be a mediocre one is easy. All I ever wanted was to be a mediocre journalist...[I] am neither proud nor ashamed of my mediocrity. "

So states Clay Robinette, the protagonist of Jake Lamar's latest novel. Unlike BOURGEIOS BLUES, I do not think this putative mystery is at all autobiographical but I did get the feeling a great deal of Jake could be found in the character of Clay. Try as he might, Mr. Lamar has far too much talent to sink into the bathyal depths of commonality; a number of passages reflect true brilliance in this otherwise pedestrian offering. Mr. Lamar seems to be a writer in search of a genre, and as with his "contemporary black folk" story, CLOSE TO THE BONE, I hope mystery/thriller is merely another pit stop on the raceway to non-fiction.

I'm somewhat of a cynic myself so Mr. Lamar's style is generally appealing. In this story of a sometimes philandering, "victimized," college professor, who formerly was a latent philandering, run-of-the-mill, "victimized" New York Times journalist, everyone has an ulterior motive that periodically intersects their hidden agendas. These characters afford the author ample opportunity to express his cultural and political views. Unmasking the murderer of a manipulative, nubile white coed is the mystery, but that part of the story serves only as backdrop to a stream of sardonic social commentary. Trust no one, believe even fewer, and never, under any circumstance, accept what you observe as valid.

If Mr. Lamar had opted to write a book on the condition of race and relationship in America, sans the translucent vestments of a mystery, I would have rated it at the highest level. As it is, his problematic spavined development of that component cannot be overlooked. There are a number of gaffes no mystery novelist, regardless of seasoning, should have allowed to pass.

Comparatively speaking, fiction is an insulated category. Criticism is generally directed at the storyline as opposed to the writer's personal leanings. I tend to believe Mr. Lamar has the fortitude to withstand the heat of provocative non-fiction. I, for one, am hoping he decides to step out from behind the shield.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall..I good book, September 9, 2001

By 

goodwitchGlenda (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If 6 Were 9: A "Militant" Mystery (Hardcover)

It took me a little while to "get into" this book. Alot of background history was given, that in the long run was needed to get the overall affect. But being inpatient as I am, I wanted it to hurry up and "be good". It was, at long last, a very good mystery. The person (or persons) that I thought had actually committed the murder were not the guilty parties at all. The actual murderer was a complete surprise. The story line was both interesting and completely different. It was indeed a militant mystery with a contemporary storyline.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If 6 were 9 reviewed by K. White, May 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: If 6 Were 9: A "Militant" Mystery (Hardcover)

This mystery is packed with twists that will keeping you guessing until the very end. The rich characters each have a distictive voice that beg to tell their own story. I finsihed the book in two days (although I tried to slow down to savor each page). Close to the Bone made me a loyal follower of Mr. Lamar. Can't wait until the next book.