Garden of Evil: A Britt Montero Novel

I thoroughly enjoyed Garden of Evil, the first Edna Buchanan crime novel that I have read. The protagonist, Britt Montero, a reporter for a Miami newspaper who covers the police beat, obviously owes a great deal to Buchanan's own experience as an award winning crime reporter. The story is fast, the characters are interesting and the dialogue is crisp. This is the kind of entertaining read that many readers long for.On the negative side, the plot is advanced by a series of coincidences that would make Dickens blush. And the fact that the book deals with a serial killer, at a time when the public at large is probably getting sick of that very overused topic, would have been more of a limitation except that this killer is female and her M.O. - leaving her male victims with their pants down and their genitals shot off - will strike an emotional chord, though not the same one, with male and female readers. The ending was something of an anti-climax after the very long and exciting buildup, but I had so much fun in the reading of the book that I didn't even think of that until later.My wife insists that this is far from the best of Buchanan. If that is true, then her best must be very good indeed. For anyone who likes their crime fiction fast and on the gritty side, this is very entertaining fiction.

A great, galumping read that romps playfully--and scarily--through Florida like a hurricane (author Edna Buchanan did that in another Britt Montera book.) It's all in her funny details, like when she washes ashore in Miami Beach and the Beach police, acccustomed to Cuban or Haitian refugees, asks where she's from as they pluck her from the surf, and she answers, "The Miami News." Buchanan keeps you riveted with twists and turns but never strays too far from the rdiculous ironies of contemporary life, especially as she knows it in Miami and Miami Beach. Who knows as many excruciatingly funny details about crime as the great Edna Buchanan?

Edna Buchanan's latest Britt Montero novel is very different sans the usual suspects; e.g., Cuban patriots and expatriates. This time out, newspaperwoman Britt goes one on one with a female serial killer as she cuts a bloody swath across Florida. Killer Keppie Lee Hutton is about as warped a character as ever penned by the inimitable Ms. Buchanan. Her main criterion for killing is the mere existence of men who, responding to her sexy mannerisms and seductive come-ons, make love to her. Once the deed is done, this gruesome Southern black widow dispatches them painfully and messily. Her progress across the state into Miami, Britt's bailiwick, is charted by the missing vehicle of each new victim, since the previous victims' wheels are always found near the latest crime scene. Sound familiar? Keppie Lee has a dark and deadly past and a shocking family secret which Britt discovers only after she and a small child are taken as hostages on a joy ride from hell. Britt not only has the little boy to protect from Keppie's murderous mood swings, but is forced to fend off Keppie's amorous advances while helplessly watching this sick puppy scope out her new victims. Quick thinking and a 1-time window of opportunity provides Britt exactly 1 chance to save herself and the boy. Keppie is finally captured in Barbados and, in a jailhouse confrontation back in Miami, reveals to Britt her final secret and ace in the hole, providing for a shocking but ambiguous ending. We may see Keppie Lee Hutton again.This book is well plotted, quick paced, distressingly plausible and, while perhaps not one of Buchanan's best, is nonetheless highly entertaining and recommended.

Pam W., a crime writer I knew in college, introduced me to Edna's world. Since then, I've been hooked. I have read every one of Edna's books, including her first, Carr. Her two auto-bios were terrific, fast-paced, excellent. Her first novel, Nobody Lives Forever, was searing. I loved it from the title to the last page. Then came Britt Montero, diva of all Miami journalists. Edna became such an inspiration to me that for one year, I was proud to call myself the college newspaper crime reporter. I kept my faith in Edna, buying her books only days after release, sometimes the day of. I looked forward to where she would take Britt each time another book came out. Before Garden of Evil, I read Pulse, which was a disappointment. Although I will always applaud any writer who experiments outside their form, I don't think Pulse was as accomplished as some of Edna's other books. I've noticed how Edna works the events around her into her books, which I think lend Britt and the plots credibility. These snippets are also, at times, a huge source of humor in Edna's fiction. (Regarding some use of true-life events, there have been some technicalities I could mention, but I'll forgo the nit-picking.) Meanwhile, Garden of Evil has really done for me what the last few books haven't done, which was introduce an archenemy. After Britt did away with the city editor several books ago, with the photographs of the editor in the act while at the workplace, Britt really hasn't had any real conflict, besides her daily deadline. There hasn't been another constant force out there always hovering over her. Without an editor, Britt was just running lose, not kept on track. I have learned that the importance of an editor-nemesis should not be underestimated. Now, there is a cliffhanger, a source of greater anticipation of what will happen next. I now look forward to the next installment with even more interest. I had lost my touch with reading until very recently. Crazy over a broken heart, I started reading a book by by Rona Jaffe, which, after I finished, I followed with Garden Of Evil, which, in turn, lead me to a book by John Kennedy Toole. I can now recall what I loved about reading. The pace of Garden of Evil kept me going on my first real reading splurge in a very long time. Also, as always, there was some wisdom to be gleaned, as Edna really has been there and done that. I highly recommend this book. Good job, Ms. Buchanan.

Edna Buchanan is back with Britt Montero after a nonseries book. A page-turner about a female serial killer that I couldn't put down.