CALICO

5 stars out of 5

No matter what the topic or genre, I'm always up for reading any book by a guy who's one of my favorite authors.That said, it pays to pay attention: had I noticed the genres in which this one is included (e.g., Science Fiction and Time Travel), I wouldn't have been quite so perplexed when it turned out to be quite different from what I expected. But once I got into the groove, I was hooked - and I marveled that anyone could come up with such an intricate plot that doesn't have holes in it large enough to drive a spaceship through (and happily, one that leaves the door open for more to come).

It's hard to cough up a review without spoiling things for other readers, but the story centers on homicide detective Beth McDade, who managed to land a job with the somewhat remote San Bernadino County Sheriff's Barstow Station after being dumped from the LAPD for doing something that comes naturally once or twice too often. These days, she spends a bunch of time at a local pub called Pour Decisions (gotta love it) but solving crime not so much. That changes when she's called to the scene after a screaming man ran right into a van driven by an elderly couple on their way to Las Vegas (an accident; they were sent on their way). But the dead guy has no identification; a bigger mystery, though, is why he's wearing clothing from the 1800s and is in poor health. But wait, there's more: not long afterward, construction workers unearth human bones that are quite old - except for the titanium implants in the elbows. Whoops!

As Beth and local coroner Amanda Selby try to figure out what's going on, readers get the full monty by way of chapters that provide timely (or maybe I should say untimely) insights into the past. By the end, of course, everything comes together, complete with a twist I sure didn't see coming. The whole thing is entertaining and kind of mind-blowing, and for sure I'll be watching for the next installment. Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the privilege of reading a pre-release copy.

Calico by Lee Goldberg (Severn House, November 2024); 415 pp.