Addiction is the theme of this series. To begin with, the three protagonists are recovering from alcoholism or drug abuse. But more important, they are addicted to detecting. The author, a therapist specializing in addiction and co-dependency, uses her professional background abundantly in this series, emphasizing AA principles and the trials of a recovering person.
The plot of this, the second installment featuring recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohler and his friends: Jimmy, a computer genius, and Barbara, an addictions counselor and world-class codependent, begins with a telephone call from Barbara’s sponsor Luz, who becomes suspect #1 when her abusive boyfriend, Frankie, just out of rehab and known to be a drug dealer, is found stabbed to death in his Spanish Harlem apartment. Frankie had a pregnant wife with two kids back in Brooklyn, giving the author the chance to use her knowledge of that borough and other parts of New York City as background.
The detailed insights into the life of a recovering addict are penetrating, and the look into the interchanges between members of a Brooklyn Italian family are full of understanding. The author writes with compassion and wisdom about the pressures on persons in recovery mode, and the book is recommended.
