Hancock Park

Katherine Forrest has been writing the Kate Delafield mysteries for a couple of decades. For a while, they had become formulaic, but with Hancock Park, she has become a mystery writer worthy of the name. She's no P.D. James or Laurie R. King, but she has written a fine mystery with a surprise ending. Unlike some other writers, she shared all the clues with the reader, and still came up with an unexpected ending. In addition to a terrific mystery, it is also a very good character study. Detective Delafield has matured over the years, and in this outing her partner walks out and forces Delafield to face up to her own shortcomings.

This story marks a shift for Katherine V. Forrest's fine detective series featuring Kate Delafield. One thing I love about these books is that Kate actually grows older and goes through the emotional and psychological shifts people experience as they mature. In this story Kate is investigating the killing of Victoria Talbot whose ex-husband has GUILTY written all over him. But the case is not as simple as it appears. At the same time, Kate is going through a personal crisis that results in self-examination. Ms. Forrest does not depend on melodramatic language and over-stated character interactions to make her point. Readers who have gotten used to this from reading the works of less skillful writers might find her style fairly spare. I wasn't sure whether to give this 4 or 5 stars, because I like some of the earlier Dalafield novels better. But this one is every bit as good, it's just different. You might not like it if you want a lot of action and less thoughtfulness, but Hancock Park is well worth reading.

What makes reading the book rewarding for me is the controlled, spare, concise prose that in its stark simplicity conveys the dynamics between two people -specifically, between two women - in a long-term relationship with depth and feeling. Unfortunately Ms. Forrest's calibre of writing is painfully absent from the majority of amateurish works flooding the market. Authors I would recommend as exceptional, especially if you're interested chiefly in reading work written about women by women include Laurie R. King (Martinelli series), Ellen Hart, Sandra Scoppettone, Nicola Griffith, and Jenifer Levin.

One year ago LAPD homicide Kate Delafield was sent to the affluent neighborhood of Hancock Park to investigate the death of Victoria Talbot who was shot in the head at close range. The victim was also shot in the back. Victoria's son Allan who found the body is shook and wary as he must inform his two fragile sisters that their mom is dead. Kate learns that Allan has no intention of informing his father that his former spouse was murdered.A neighbor informs Kate that she heard the shots, but is also careful to avoid mentioning Douglass Talbot though she implies that he is an abusive person who made his family's lives hell. Kate next learns that Douglass had an incestuous relationship with his youngest daughter and was stalking Victoria. Finally a Mercedes that matches the vehicle Douglass owns was seen in the vicinity around the time of the murder. Douglass is arrested, but at the trial Kate begins to believe that the defense has a ploy that will free a murderer if she does not find additional proof that he killed his ex.The long wait for the return of Kate is worth it as readers receive a fabulous police procedural. Kate is a dedicated tough cop, but is also very vulnerable especially when her lover of thirteen years leaves her forcing her to look at what she has become. As the audience hopes Aimee returns to Kate, the murder mystery is cleverly executed so that the evidence is laid out one step at a time enabling the reader to form an opinion, but keep in mind Katherine V. Forrest is brilliant at the sleight of the hand or two.Harriet Klausner