Deep Pockets

I am baffled as to why Linda Barnes is not at the top of every mystery lover's list. Her character, Carlotta Carlyle, is like a blend of Kinsey Millhone and Stephanie Plum -- she's got chutzpah when it's needed, but there are some soft edges to her, too. Barnes' stories are impeccably plotted with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. And her writing is smooth and fresh. "Deep Pockets," the tenth in the series, is as complete a mystery package as anyone could hope for. All the quirky characters from previous novels (Leroy, Paolina, Sam, Roz, and more) make their appearances, and we get to see Carlotta continue to wrestle with her never-ending attraction to Sam. The relationship between Carlotta and her adopted little sister, Paolina, also matures. I appreciate how Barnes keeps these relationships growing and changing instead of letting them stagnate as mere backdrops to the storyline. If you like Grafton, Paretsky, Muller, or Dunlap, try Barnes. You'll love her.

Carlotta Carlyle, PI and sometimes cab driver, notices someone following her throughout Harvard Square. She hides and then confronts him. He swears he wasn't going to hurt her. He says he was trying to work up the courage to talk to her. He wants to hire her. "His friend" is being blackmailed. He paid once and now they're asking for more. He finally admits that he, not his friend, had an affair with freshman student Denali Brinkman. He is a tenured Harvard Professor Wilson Chaney. If his affair is made public, it will ruin his career. He wants Carlotta to uncover the identity of his blackmailer so he can then persuade him to stop. When Carlotta starts digging, she finds Denali recently committed suicide in a fire in the boathouse at Harvard. She was a rower. She tries to interview Denali's roommate and an ex-boyfriend. The more she digs, the more she questions everything her client has told her. Plus she finds more pieces to investigate the deeper she gets. Plus Carlotta is dating Leon, an FBI agent she met on her last job. Carlotta isn't sure where this relationship is going. She doesn't have much time to devote to it either due to her investigation. I really like Carlotta. She is a great PI. I don't feel that she puts herself in dangerous situations without the proper tools like in many mysteries. This is very believable. I like the way that she is able to find out the needed information without just calling someone else to find out everything. Her roommate is a great asset as well. I also like the Boston setting for this series. The author has done a great job of creating the characters and location in the book. I highly recommend this book.

Mystery readers vary in what they look for in their stories. I love great mysteries that are hard to solve. Ms. Linda Barnes has written a very fine one here that is the best mystery in the Carlotta Carlyle series. As the book opens, Carlotta finds that she is being tailed inexpertly by a well-dressed, middle-aged African American male. Finally, she braces him . . . and he knows her name. Gradually, it turns out he has a problem . . . but cannot decide whether or not to hire her. It's hard for him to trust a white person. It turns out that the man, Dr. Wilson Cheney, is a professor at Harvard and has a delicate problem. He cannot decide whether or not to share the problem. Eventually, Carlotta decides to help him after she finds out that he is a friend of her FBI lover, Leon Wells. But she doesn't like the story he tells very much. Cheney had had an affair with a student. Although the student is now dead, Cheney had sent the student some incriminating letters. Cheney fears that he would get the boot from both Harvard and his wife if the letters were made public. A blackmailer has already sold him one of the letters for $1,000 . . . and wants $5,000 for a second one. Cheney wants Carlotta to get those letters back. In the course of her investigation, Carlotta learns that the good professor has not been very candid about the details of his relationship with the student or his own situation. As she uncovers more facts, she wishes she had never heard of him. But she continues on the case . . . which soon takes an unexpected turn after she tracks down the blackmailer. From there, hold onto your seat, for the action takes many unexpected directions in a fine detection story. In the background, Carlotta's relationship with Leon has its ups and downs, her little sister (Paolina) decides to dress in a trampy way to go to a party, and Sam Gianelli keeps coming up in her yearnings. Carlotta finds herself only partially able to handle all these issues. Much of the story occurs in and around Harvard Square in Cambridge. Those who know the area will delight in the many details of the locale and people. Fond memories will be evoked for those who love this area. Harvard plays the role as heavy in many ways in the story, but not in any way that's unrealistic in my opinion. So if you went there, stay cool. After you finish this story, think about what your priorities should be to create a better life for your family, you and your community.

The Carlotta Carlyle series is one of the best of the strong, independent, female private investigator / cop genre. In the tenth installment, Deep Pockets, Carlotta's case involving a Harvard professor is a referral from her new boyfriend, FBI Agent Leon Wells. Carlotta has little empathy for her new client, not only because of his elitist affiliation with the "world's greatest university," but because the case involves blackmail over the client's love affair with an undergraduate student. Carlotta's uncomfortable relationship with the Harvard professor parallels her equally uncomfortable relationship with Leon. Both men represent "the establishment" to Carlotta, questioning her work methods and her independent desire to be in control. Carlotta's case quickly expands from blackmail to murder, and introduces complications from her contacts at the Boston Police Department, a cleaning contractor, the professor's eccentric wife, and Harvard University administration. Lies of omission and double crosses by the suspects lead Carlotta in a variety of directions, including some half-truths and breaking and entering of her own. Carlotta's working activities occur against a backdrop of her relationships with Roz, her roommate, and Carlotta's unofficial little sister, Paolo, who is struggling with her awakening sexuality and puberty. As always, Sam Gianelli, Carlotta's ex-boyfriend and mob member, is also haunting her heart and her daydreams. Deep Pockets is a fast paced, engaging read, and a great addition to this series. The characters and plot are well written and consistent, although the Harvard professor and Leon are a little flat. Carlotta is an appealing hero, largely because of her portrayal as a person with doubts and imperfections and not a superwoman. This is a very good read, relatively fast, and recommended for fans of private investigators and sleuths.

Boston area private investigator Carlotta Carlyle noticed the mark trailing her throughout Harvard Square. She pulls a magician's trick and accosts her tracker. He insists he was not stalking her, but instead working up the courage to consult with her in a professional capacity.He explains that "his friend" is being blackmailed and paying failed to end the nightmare. Tenured Harvard Professor Wilson Chaney admits he had an affair with a freshman student Denali Brinkman. Realizing that revelation of his taboo indiscretion would end his career Wilson hires Carlotta to uncover the identity of his blackmailer so he can persuade the person to stop. Though Carlotta literally (only slightly that is) and figuratively (totally) looks down at her client especially over the age of his lover, she accepts the case.Carlotta digs deep into the background of her client and his former teen lover. She searches for threads at the University and in Wilson's personal life, finding a vehicular death link. Unable to resist, Carlotta goes down the side path that this death takes her not realizing how dangerous her detour will soon prove as there is much more to this case than simply a blackmailed cheating husbandIn her tenth appearance, Carlotta remains an invigorating private investigator. Her latest case DEEP POCKETS is a fabulous detective story that starts rather differently, but quite exhilaratingly before turning into a suspense thriller. Carlotta deals with ethics issues throughout the tale beginning with her odious client and continuing when she chose a lane that might not be in the best interest of the professor. This six foot one former police officer still kicks butt as one of Boston's finest.Harriet Klausner