Wright, Edward – WHILE I DISAPPEAR

[LJ Roberts]

WHILE I DISAPPEAR (Amateur Sleuth-California-1950s) – VG Wright, Edward – 2^nd
in series
Putnam, 2004- Hardcover

John Ray Horn is a former movie cowboy who now collects gambling debts for his former Indian co-star, Joseph Mad Crow. When John and Joseph visit a bar to persuade a man again bothering Joe's niece, John sees a woman, Rose Galen, who had starred in a movie with him years before. John finds she has fallen on hard time, renews his acquaintance, and learns she is carrying guilt for an incident that lead to a woman's death. When he finds Rose dead, John is determined to uncover the secret and find her killer.

Wright has created a wonderful, atmospheric series with an interesting protagonist. Horn definitely has a past for which he is still paying. He is also very human, feeling guilt for his own past, knowing he is not the hero cowboy, and often leaping to the wrong conclusion. But he also has that sense of right that keeps driving him forward. The books are well plotted and the supporting characters are as interesting as John. Wright puts the reader in post WII Los Angeles when the studio system was still in existence, everyone smoked and men wore hats. I have very much enjoyed both books in this series and look forward to reading the next.