Turtle Baby: A Mystery Novel

Rating:
Summary: Multi-Cultural Mystery, Visiting the Maya
Review: Are you sick of the "crazed killer" plot device? Then try this series! This was my first meeting with manic-depressive social worker and sleuth Bo Bradley, and I'm very pleased to make her acquaintance. (The name must be a tribute to Boo Radley from "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- another mystery in which a mentally ill character plays an unexpected role).

Padgett's compassion brings marginalized populations onto center stage. She presents the insider view of mental illness through a truly charming protagonist. Bo does her detecting amid realistically portrayed cycles of daily can't-miss-it medication and other routine annoyances, including a boss who snipes that she doesn't have a "real disability" and a well-meaning love interest who WANTS to understand, but... Padgett presents a respectful outsider's view of both Mexican and Mayan culture, careful to distinguish between them, and graceful enough with it to keep all the characters and settings entertaining and intriguing.

If you pay attention, you'll figure out the first poisoning immediately (that's why I deducted one star) -- but the others will keep you guessing until the end. Padgett plays fair! No hidden clues, just a plethora of possibilities. A nice, meaty read that takes mystery fans where most have not gone before: into the world of the high-functioning mentally ill, without patronizing or demonizing anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Turtle Baby
Review: I also love Padgett's work and although I am from Oklahoma, not San Diego, I see many of the same cultural clashes she speaks of as we have a growing population of Mexicans, both legal and illegal pouring into our state. This book hits close to home with me as I work in a Health Department in a county surrounded on three sides by Native American Nations, and my best friend also suffers from a mental illness, and she too has struggled in her attempt to master it. I can see many of the prejudices in this novel that those without money, and from less powerful cultures face daily, but I take exception with the fact that the author seems to assume that all and only white people have these prejudices. However, the mystery itself is five star, especially owing to the surprise twist. I see Padgett's books not so much about the mystery but about Bradley's struggle to overcome her illness and at the same time handle issues that most of us who are "balanced" could never handle. It's too bad this book is out of print. It has a lot to say about the human condition, both good and bad.