Vengeance (Lew Fonesca) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a fan of Kaminsky's Abe Lieberman series, but I like Lew even better. Picture someone in midlife who drifts to Florida when his wife dies; and puts together a very simplistic lifestyle in one of Florida's wealthiest communities. You get a great look at Sarasota from the back of a Dairy Queen! You get a hero with a real sense of humor and a knack with people who is masquerading as a process server. You get a strong set of supporting characters, particularly in Flo, Sally, Ames and the fascinating Harvey, a computer research maven and Dr. Ann Horowitz, Lew's elderly psychiatrist.

In "Vengeance", the first time we get together with Lew (a Stanley Tucci lookalike), Kaminsky has woven together two different mysteries, one of which is exceedingly difficult to figure out. The characters are more carefully drawn and the romance is soft and believable. Fonesca is someone could very probably have met in your own lifetime, and his unassuming habits and thoughts are in sharp contrast to his quick wit and humor... A tidbit...

"I'm gay, Mr. Fonesca. I told you." "Why do they call it gay? Most of the homosexuals I've known are smiling on the outside and depressed on the inside", I said. "Like you?" "There is a distinct similarity", I said, sinking back into the chair.

A great and breezy read; makes you want Kaminsky to keep returning to Lew in the future!

Lew Fonseca has integrity and persistence going for him, but little else. No one is going to mistake him for Nick Charles, Sam Spade, or Mike Hammer. He is licensed as a process server, and gets occasional jobs from attorneys to find people. Like a terrier, he gets to the bottom of where the missing people are. He is lucky to get paid $50 a day. He lives in his office. He gets leads for jobs at the Dairy Queen, where he eats most of his meals. He gets around by walking or riding a bike . . . unless he can charge a rental car to a client. He's depressed and has a hard time taking danger seriously. Perhaps he even has an unconscious death wish. He lost his wife three years before, and hasn't recovered yet. In this mystery, he is asked to find a runaway teenaged girl who is probably being sexually abused by her father. Separately, a local businessman asks him to find his missing wife. Normally, Lew has no work. Now he has too much. He puts his attention mostly on the runaway, and still can't keep up. And who is that mysterious man who's following him?

Lew Fonseca's buddies are as vivid in their uniqueness and appeal as he is. You'll enjoy thinking about them as examples of how the purpose of your life is more important than the resources you have. The book has a strong moral tone, without being preachy, that saves the book from being disgusting as various extreme forms of human depravity are exposed.

The mystery was hard for me to solve. Maybe you'll get it sooner than I did, but I was puzzled up until the last few pages. That made the book much more enjoyable for me.

A good lesson from this book is to consciously avoid judging people by their appearances and occupations. Everyone is different from what they seem. Try getting acquainted with someone you would normally not spend time with, and see how many of your assumptions about that person turn out to be wrong. That's a good way to overcome the Ugly Duckling stall!