Trick of Light

Rating:
Summary: LOTS OF TRICKS, FEW TREATS
Review: I didn't realize "Trick of Light" was the second book featuring heroine Kay Farrow. David Hunt's prose is certainly well-written, and as a male, his first person narrative in a woman's role is very good. However, at times, I found the "present tense" style a bit distracting and manipulative.
I found the novel a bit windy and long. There's a lot of superfluous narrative and descrption, and Kay's character vacillates between someone you like and someone who seems very self-oriented. Her love affair with Sasha, for instance..he obviously loves her a great deal, but she's content with just "using" him, as she doesn't feel the same towards him. She overcomes her fear of guns quite easily, too; and her quest to find out what happened to her mentor, Maddy, tends to get bogged down in lots of repetitive disclosures. The goings on in the apartment are never fully developed so that they seem frightening. When we learn that a gun (erotically decorated, no less) is at the heart of the murder, little is done to keep it suspenseful. There's also the continued dalliances of her boos, Josh, that takes the story into different areas without serving the main plot. All in all, a technically polished writer giving us a trite and not so interesting tale.

Rating:
Summary: Even better than "The Magician's Tale"!
Review: I loved "The Magician's Tale." I read it this summer in paperback and couldn't put it down. So I was thrilled when I learned that David Hunt had written a second novel featuring colorblind photographer, Kay Farrow. In fact, "Trick Of Light" is if anything better than the first book...and that's saying something! This time Kay tracks the death of her mentor, world-famous photojournalist Maddy Yamada, who appeared briefly in the earlier novel. Here, after Kay unravels Maddy's past, her life is explicated in all its magnificent strangeness and mystery. And here again Hunt captures the essence of my hometown, San Francisco, like no other novelist before. In both books you can literally feel the fog, smell the streets, delight in the shimmering Pacific Coast light. And as before Kay Farrow's noir vision of the city (for she is totally colorblind) distills it down to a special essence. A terrific tale beautifully told by a highly gifted writer. Suspense, mystery, memorable characters, a stunning tour de force. I can't recommend this book enough!

Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT
Review: I think this is a briliant book, beautifully written, with a strong female protagonist who rings absolutely true to life. It is so superior to the standard run of mysteries that it's not funny! The story is compelling, the way it's developed is fascinating and the outcome is deliciously gratifying to the reader. Hunt has written in the voice of this character before in his terrific earlier book THE MAGICIAN'S TALE. Though the earlier book was permeated with a darker sexuality, this new Kay Farrow novel is perhaps more enticing. I found it almost Hitchcockian (if there is such a word!)and the San Francisco setting also reminded me of Hitchcock at his best (i.e. "VERTIGO"). A great read!