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Dark Side of the Moon

by J. Carson Black

Although J. Carson Black's Dark Side of the Moon isn't as good as her first (Darkness on the Edge of Town) it's a fairly reliable fact that any author's second work rarely lives up to the first one. I found it still to be a good read. Why it's not as good is hard to pin down – maybe it's because there are simply too many diversions. When you consider the fact that the book includes not only the protagonist's affair with her lover, but also her bout with eye problems, a case of Munchausen, a sinister suspect who buries his girlfriend alive, the main character's ghost friend, threatening Chernoble-like promises – and all this in addition to the main mystery, it becomes slightly difficult to remember all the names – especially when you're also inundated with the questioning of numerous other people involved!

Laura Cardinal, a criminal investigator with the Arizona Department of Public Safety has been called in to probe the deaths of two recently married college students, Dan Yates and Kellee Taylor. They were camping by Cataract Lake and asleep in their tent when they were brutally murdered from the outside by shotgun blasts. The murderer evidently swept away his footprints and left no evidence. Laura is also encumbered with a new, less-than-perfect partner, Richie Lockhart, who shows up late at the murder site, and since she's still recovering from the capture of a sexual predator, it just adds to her stress.

In the process of her investigation, Laura visits Dan's sister, Shana Yates. Her boyfriend, Bobby Burdette, has been involved in a number of crimes, and Laura immediately places him on her suspect list since he was at the wedding and disliked by Dan. A sub-plot involves Shana selling her beloved horse to Barbara Wingate – who is the mother of the policeman who found the bodies and also grandmother to Erin – a young girl ill with an unknown disease. Erin will ride the horse.

Frank Entwhisle, Laura's former mentor, now deceased, seems to show up as a ghost occasionally in the story. Unfortunately, unlike most spirits, he's parsimonious with his advice, and little help to her in solving the crime. The story takes a decided turn when it seems that a group of people are determined to get the public's attention by taking toxic waste close to the Colorado River – which supplies large cities like Los Angeles. This becomes especially important when it's discovered that Bobby Burdette belongs to the group.

In the best murder-mystery fashion, Laura discovers the actual killer, and of course neither the reason nor the culprit is anyone the reader suspected before. The second half of Dark Side of the Moon is where the author really shines. This is where all the promise of J. Carson Black's first book validates her second work. We look forward with interest to her third!

Alan Paul Curtis

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