Cheating at Solitaire: A Gregor Demarkian Novel [Hardcover]

Having read every Gregor Demarkian mystery, I was anxioiusly awaiting the latest installment, Cheating at Solitaire. Previous volumes were devoured like a box of gourmet chocolates, often in one long weekend orgy of indulgence. The author seems to favor the isolation of snowstorms and ice bound landscapes to keep her characters locked in place, and Cheating at Solitaire dares to bring her favorite clime to a New England island not usually associated with drastic winter weather. The setting and main characters were the first disappointment of many, unfortunately.

Perhaps it is because I live in New England, home to the real Martha's Vineyard that I took offense at the amateurish disguise of the island and its main town. The weak attempt at renaming the places was not worthy of a talented and seasoned author. The population of post-pubescent non-talents was a cheap take off on current headlines worthy of only tabloid journalism. The supporting cast, unmemorable. Their constant inner musings were boring, pointless and did little or nothing to move the plot forward. The "perfect" former science fiction series hero and the reclusive author have no chemistry and it is a mystery itself as to why they were given so great a share of the book.

The only reason I plodded through this seemingly knock-off of previous Demarkian installments was to find out how the relationship between Gregor and Bennis was playing out. That, too, was a disappointment. The only revealing feature was that I now have insight into each of their ages. (I always suspected that Gregor was younger in actual years than he is in spirit and self-appraisal.)

I felt betrayed by the poor quality of Ms. Haddam's plot and writing after all these years. Could it be that, like others with a long character-driven series, she has abandoned the effort and the publisher has enlisted ghost writers to bring in the bucks?

One final question concerning the overall "style": what is the reference to the title? All previous titles tied in to the setting or the crime. (If anyone can explain the significance of "cheating at soliatire," I would be grateful for at least that.)

When Gregor Demarkian is asked to come to Martha's Harbor to investigate the murder of a young man attached to a film crew, nothing in Gregor's background prepares him for what he finds.

The usually quiet private island has celebrities and media people everywhere. Whereas the locals have little use for the media, and the rich summer people shun publicity of any kind, the film people crave media attention-often doing outrageous things just to generate news. Then a local photographer is attacked, and a summer resident who was hanging around with the film people ends up dead, too. While there are many rivalries among the crew, there seems to be very few real motives for murder. Eventually Gregor realizes that in spite of the glitz and glamour, the motives for murder remain the same regardless of class.

This is essentially a "country house" mystery. The key players are on an island cut off from the mainland by a storm when the first murder is committed, so the potential suspect list is limited. It won't take readers long to mentally substitute Martha's Vineyard or Bar Harbor for Martha's Harbor, or celebrities such as Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, for the main characters.

The book is as much a commentary on our society's celebrity worship and celebrities 'extravagant lifestyles as it is a mystery. While Haddam shows the lack of connection to real life of these celebrities (many are high school dropouts-and don't wear underwear), she also reminds readers about the differences in Gregor and Bennis's backgrounds and how differently they view the world. Bennis Hannaford, is a member of a Philadelphia Mainline family--a family much like the summer rich on the island. Bennis's family is as removed from Gregor's background as the summer people are from the locals on the island.

Fans of Haddam's series should be pleased not only with this book as a mystery, but the with glimpse into Gregor and Bennis's personal relationship.

Armchair Interviews says: Readers unfamiliar with the series will have no trouble enjoying this book.

It is a rare author who can keep things fresh and interesting after 22 books in a series, and Haddam, unfortunately, is not that author. This book is very much going through the motions. Even the names of places and characters are stupendously unoriginal -- Margaret's Harbor instead of Martha's Vineyard, Stewart Gordon instead of Patrick Stewart... etc. The characters are cardboard cutouts, no depth at all.

The mystery is mildly interesting, but that's all. For goodness sake, don't buy the hardcover -- get it at the library, or at least wait for the paperback.