Continental Drift

James D. Houston's Continental Drift chronicles the Doyle family's reactions to a series of brutal murders that suspiciously coincides with the return of their youngest son from the Vietnam War. Unlike a typical mystery novel, Continental Drift concentrates on the physical and psychological landscapes of the murders--the ranching community of Monterey, California--instead of the murders themselves.The narrative's tension revolves around the characters' relationships with the land, themselves, and the history of the Golden State. Instead of actions, artistic descriptions are used to hook readers: "Perhaps inheritance isn't the right word. This could be something absorbed, or ingested, or inhaled with the lifelong blending of apple scent and crumbling adobe and exhaust fumes and molecules of rubber dust that hang forever in the air above the freeways. He inherited a state of mind that goes right back to the Spaniards, where everything out west begins." Odd, spooky situations also capture the reader's attention, but the amount of description far outweighs the number of scenes. Thus, suspense as it pertains to the killings never really takes off until halfway through the book. But by that time, every character is a suspect. Continental Drift is a language rather than plot driven mystery. James D. Houston centers his story around California, which almost becomes a character itself. Readers interested in a classic who-done-it may want to look elsewhere. Those interested in the West and a gifted writer's poetic expression to a land he loves, should not hesitate buying this book.