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This novel is one of the 'Inspector Van Veeteren Mysteries'. Though the novel moves along, it is rather superficial. Inspector Van Veeteren is not overly involved with the case, but there are many of his staff who are working on solving the crime. In fact, there are too many characters involved, and not enough of the inspector.
A woman sets out to avenge her mother by killing four men. She phones them and plays a piece of music, which seems to be the only commonality. However careful work on the part of the police find that these men all attended a parp-military academy a the same time when they were younger. Though murder is wrong, one cannot help sympathizing with the woman, Maria, and mourning with her in her mother's life and death. Good story.
Let me say how much I love Alice Hoffman's writing! Her prose is sublime and her insights into human nature are mature beyond her years. In Local Girls she presents an ordinary tale of a family in an extraordinary way. Gretel is a teenage girl who keeps on living in spite of her mother's cancer, her parent's divorce and her brother 's descent into despair. Her cousin, Margot, and her best friend, Jill, keep her balanced, in spite of their own difficulties. Themes of betrayal and love are explored with a backdrop of very realistic characters, good and bad.
B
