Of Course You Know That Chocolate is a Vegetable and Other Stories

The president of Mystery Writers of America, Barbara D'Amato is a playwright, novelist, and crime researcher who currently writes two mystery series. One features Chicago patrol officers Suze Figueroa and Norm Bennis, whose adventures on the streets of Chicago supply six of the twelve stories in this collection. And in "See No Evil", the partners encounter freelance investigative reporter Cat Marsala, the heroine of D'Amato's other popular series. Cat also does a Washington expose in "Freedom of the Press". The title story won the author the 1999 Agatha, Macavity, and Anthony awards.

Best known for her Cat Marsala series, D'Amato also writes mysteries featuring Chicago cops Suze Figuero and Norm Bennis. Marsala appears twice in this collection of a dozen short stories, while Figuero and Bennis figure in seven. Most interesting is "See No Evil," which brings Marsala together with Bennis and Figuero. Bennis has been accused of killing a bad guy out of anger, and Marsala must prove his innocence. Although series fans will enjoy the majority of the stories included here--those featuring D'Amato's familiar characters--the others are a mixed bag. "I Vant to Be Alone" is a weird take on the Garbo line, and the title story is a gruesome, unamusing tale in which a disgruntled writer murders a reviewer who criticized her book. Often, the authors of mystery series use short stories as a way of stretching themselves, but in D'Amato's case, the stretches don't quite work. Here's hoping she's ready to get back to doing what she does best--series characters. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved