September Song

Texas private detective Dan Roman loves his ex-wife, even though she has remarried, and he must protect her from men against whom she had testified, despite a new husband who thinks protecting her is his job

Although Mathis ( The Burned Woman ) takes only partial advantage of colorful Texas vernacular--allowing the dialogue to verge on insipidity--PI Dan Roman still does a stand-up job of solving his seventh mystery. Roman never stopped loving his exwife, Susie, who had an affair with and now is married to Jack Farley, the son of Roman's Vietnam crew chief. Roman tries to protect Susie when she complains of being followed, shot at and threatened by Dalton Wagerman and his boy, who both served time for raping the Wagerman daughter. But Roman's intervention infuriates Farley, who seethes, "You had your time with her, and now she's mine." Roman, undeterred, investigates, and is assaulted by persons unknown as well as by the Wagermans. Not until a Texas-style showdown near the end of the story is the Wagermans' problem with Susie fully explained, and both sides prove to have been framed. A strong mini-mystery unfolds; however, the fine, genuinely surprising conclusion is at odds with the tedious melodrama, much of which centers on Roman and Susie as they rekindle their former ardor.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Series investigator Dan Roman ( Another Path, Another Dragon , LJ 6/1/88; The Burned Woman , LJ 5/1/89), former Midway City (Texas) cop, still locates missing persons for a living. This time he tracks down a binging black football star for the man's wealthy white wife. Once he finds the jock, he returns home to answer a call for help from ex-wife Susie, the years-younger woman he still loves. As he strives to protect her from supposed killers, he encounters opposition from her financial-consultant husband, runs into the football player again, and confronts a family of vengeful ex-cons. While the author's crisp, driven prose and brawling action are evident, suspense takes a back seat to the reunion of Roman and his ex. Recommended.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.