From Publishers Weekly
Warren Ritter, ex-'60s radical and sidewalk tarot-card reader in Berkeley, Calif., works to clear his daughter's name in Skibbins's inconsistent if entertaining third mystery (after 2006's
High Priestess). Believed killed in an explosion in 1970, Ritter has only recently resurfaced from a life on the run and learned of the existence of his daughter, Fran Wilkins. Now, Fran turns to her long-lost dad for help when her abusive husband, Orrin, a Santa Cruz policeman, declares her unfit because she suffers from bipolar disorder, and moves out with their five-month-old son. Fran steals her baby back from her husband's strict fundamentalist parents, but then lands in the hospital under police guard—rescued from attempted suicide and suspected of murdering her husband. In a dramatic conclusion, Ritter orchestrates a violent confrontation that reveals the true killer, but some details strain credulity and readers hoping for more tarot tips might be disappointed.
(Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Warren Ritter--
Eight of Swords (2005)
High Priestess (2006)--is certainly not a typical detective. On the lam after participating in radical politics and coping with bipolar disorder, he ekes out a living reading tarot cards on Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue. When a daughter, Fran, whose existence was unknown to him, asks for help, he cannot refuse. Fran is separated from her husband, Orrin, a police officer who has taken their five-month-old son. Fran would like to get her child back, but Orrin will declare her an unsuitable parent if she tries. When Orrin turns up dead, Fran is the logical suspect, and Warren must rise to the occasion. With the help of his unconventional group of friends, which includes a former Black Panther, a biker psychiatrist, and his disabled computer-expert girlfriend, the tarot detective turns all the right cards. Skibbins' third mystery combines lots of action, a scene-stealing supporting cast, a well-constructed plot, and liberal doses of Bay Area atmosphere at its most quirky.
Barbara BibelCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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