This book was really not as enjoyable as most. The central theme, repeated over and over in the book, is "Garrett grows up". As it turns out, a Garrett who is growing up is pretty dull. There's very little action in the story. The mystery isn't interesting or very mysterious. Missing are all the elements in other Garrett yarns; female interaction, violence and intrigue, interesting involvement of secondary characters, and a satisfying wrap up of loose threads. What there is in this book is a lot of reference to previous stories, gratuitous apearance of numerous characters without purpose or flavor, and a lot of introspective, approaching middle-age Garrett. The Dead Man is more lively in this one than Garrett. If you're familiar with the series, this story may disappoint; it certainly disappointed me. If you have just heard about these books, read some of the earlier, well-written sories when Garrett was actually alive. An unfinished and unrealized novel. ( )

See Sweet Silver Blues for my take on this series. Despite being a dozen volumes in, I still find these a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. ( )