Cover image from Goodreads.com

Kenzie and Gennaro accept a new client: a rich man who’s dying and wants to find his daughter. Kenzie’s mentor was looking for her, but now he’s gone missing too. The two detectives, flush with upfront cash, hunt for the daughter and uncover a cult in the process.

This is the third Kenzie and Gennaro novel.

I felt like this novel was clunkier than the past two. The characters are taking shape and the world is filling out nicely, but while reading I was constantly reminded that this book is a product of its time.

Published in 1997, the novel features beautiful women. One so beautiful that every man is blinded by her. Kenzie, of course, finds Gennaro more beautiful. All the women featured were described by their beauty, actually. The reader is reminded fairly often about Gennaro’s beauty and what effect her stunning looks have on Kenzie. Honestly, it was tiresome.

For that matter, so was the sardonic banter between characters. I didn’t feel like any character grew during the novel and that most of them had something sarcastic to say. After a while I just wanted some genuine emotion.

But what was most bothersome was when Gennaro stuck her tongue out at Kenzie as a mock fight. How infantilizing.

I’ll keep up with reading the whole series of Kenzie and Gennaro books, though. I remember the later ones were really good. Of course now I’m wondering if the novels will hold up to my memory.