MYSTERY

Dig Two Graves

by Kim Powers
Tyrus. Dec. 2015. 304p. ISBN 9781440591914. $24.99; pap. ISBN 9781440591921. $16.99; ebk. ISBN 9781440591938. M
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In 2000 at the Sydney Summer Olympics, Ethan Holt won the decathlon. Now in his 30s, he has returned to his alma mater to teach the classics and raise his daughter, Skip, after his wife's death. But his life is painfully interrupted when Skip is kidnapped. Ethan has to work with Det. Aretha Mizell, who has her own secrets, as they decipher the bizarre ransom notes written as tricky, rhyming clues. It turns out the kidnapper is tasking Ethan with the modern equivalent of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. Can a former Olympian with a troubled past accomplish them? The plot unfolds in alternating chapters, as Ethan figures out each rhyme and Skip tries to survive her ordeal.
VERDICT Powers (The History of Swimming; Capote in Kansas) has crafted an unusually lyrical mystery. Each character is sharply and precisely drawn; the language is carefully polished. The denouement brings to mind the works of Scott Turow or John Lescroat.
Reviewed by Viccy Kemp , Dec 01, 2015
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