Over Tumbled Graves

The book opens as Detective Caroline Mabry confronts a man in a Spokane city park during a botched drug bust. The buyer pushes the dealer off the bridge where they're meeting and Caroline is forced to choose: attempt to save the dealer or go after the man who coolly pushed the teenaged dealer to his death. Soon after, the first body of a murdered hooker is found on the riverbank and the hunt for the man on the bridge kicks into high gear. This beautifully written novel turns the conventions of serial killer fiction on its head. Rather than creating typical cliffhanger suspense and gore (what the book jacket, with its breathless summary and blurb from James Patterson, seems to promise - yawn) it's really about our own fascination with show more crime, our hunger to enjoy the thrill of brushing close to some imaginary face of evil - and about the sad, sordid reality behind it. It features two wonderfully-drawn police protagonists and a pair of dueling profilers whose competition reveals just how absurd most of our assumptions about serial homicides are. The ending, if not a total surprise to the veteran mystery reader, is a terrific wrap-up for this premise. It's no surprise that the author, a journalist as well as a gifted novelist, covered a serial killing in Spokane and knows up close and personal that our fascination with the drama of these crimes overshadows the sad reality of the victims, women whose marginal status makes them invisible until enough of them die to become a hot story. I can't recommend this book strongly enough. As close to perfection as it gets. show less

This is probably the most demanding mystery I've read. The author sacrifices pace to bring readers inside the worlds of detectives tasked to catch a serial killer preying on prostitutes. These are individuals with a wide emotional range and different reasons for seeking to solve the case. The victims, street walkers in Spokane, are also mined for motivation, history, and behavioral characteristics. So we have literary elements grafted onto what typically is a plot-driven page-turner. Readers spend time learning about the major players--who include two hyper-ambitious profilers who seem more interested in career advancement than in catching a killer. Also, there are detailed descriptions of Spokane, a city not usually the site of show more detective tales. The actual case, which frustrates everyone for 95% of the work, is resolved in the last two chapters; the plot resolution is not nearly as satisfying as the character portraits, and the crime's solution is serendipitous rather than the work of either the police or the profilers. Yet, one of the detectives is a woman cop with grave self-doubts and it is her strength and moral rectitude that the resolution depends on. There are also elements of gender solidarity between this cop and one prostitute she feels particularly drawn to. Altogether, a very intelligent and well written work that doesn't care to stay within the lines of its genre. show less

I read [b:Beautiful Ruins|11447921|Beautiful Ruins|Jess Walter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338161553s/11447921.jpg|16381755] last summer and was so enthralled by (a) Jess Walter's prose and (b) the fact that he's from Spokane and sets some of his novels there that I promptly added pretty much everything he's ever written to my to-read list. It's just taken me a little while to get to it. After reading this one, I already have a library request in for the second Caroline Mabry novel, [b:Land of the Blind|61205|Land of the Blind|Jess Walter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389044087s/61205.jpg|803986]. I think I'll be reading a lot of Jess Walter this summer.

A drug-bust gone bad turns into a homicide and the discovery of a murdered show more prostitute. As more bodies turn up, it becomes obvious there's a serial killer loose in Spokane. The FBI gets involved along with two serial killer profiling experts -- one who still works for the FBI and another who was apparently fired and has turned celebrity. Walter weaves a lot of dark humor into this taut detective novel, much of it based on these rival so-called experts.

The central character of the novel is Detective Caroline Mabry, who is dealing with plenty of issues in her personal life without the added complication of the prime suspect apparently stalking her. The city of Spokane is also a character in itself, coming to life on the page.

I'm wavering between 4 and 5 stars. To me, a 5 star rating means I wouldn't change a single thing about the book. There's a very odd romance that just didn't ring true to me and I think the book would have been better without it. But the ending was just perfect. So I'll call it 4.5 stars and round up. show less

I loved Citizen Vince and have been going back to read Walter's earlier books. This one doesn't have the great humor that made Citizen Vince so appealing. In fact, it's kind of grim. Det. Caroline Mabry is single, thirty-something, and trying to find a reason why she still lives in Spokane WA. She gets caught up in the investigation of the serial murders of several local prostitutes. This is a character-driven book. The kind I like. And, for those who like a good mystery, there's an ending with a twist.

Another great novel by Jess Walter. I think this was his first work of fiction. It might be not as polished or perfect as a thriller by an experienced author, but Walter succeeded in writing a crime story that has at the same time a literary depth and an engaging, believable plot. Too often you find either one or the other, but not both elements in the same book. Characters are 3D sculptures, alive and breathing from the pages. You also have an original twist on the "cynical investigator who bends all the rules but in the end solves the case": here you have, in Dupree, a "cynical investigator who has a million theories and metaphors, but doesn't actually do much to help the investigation".

One to read a little slower than your typical show more beach or flight thrillers. show less

As I continue my Jess Walter tour, I read this, his first novel, and thought it was excellent. A crime story about a serial killer in Spokane, this book is very character driven and reminds me of the work of Richard Price, Kate Atkinson, and Pete Dexter. The plot aspect drags a bit in the middle, but Walter's delving into the pysc of each character makes this an interesting read. Having read all his novels but one, I can see his evolution as a writer as he moves from the crime genre which was his background into his more recent novels which cover a wide range of subjects. If you are going to get into Jess Walter then you may want to do it in chronological order. I have been able get all of his books through the library. If you like a show more good crime story with complex characters, then this is a good read. show less

The first two-thirds of this book were enjoyable to those who know and have lived in Spokane. It's always fun to read about a place that you are familiar with. However, as far as the story goes, I found the first half extremely slow. The last 100 to 150 pages were a good story.