When I hear the name Colleen McCullough, I automatically think of The Thorn Birds. I read it when I was a teenager and it is still one of my favorite novels. When the publisher suggested that I read her new novel, The Prodigal Son, I was surprised. I had no idea that she had written a mystery series. For me, Colleen McCullough began and ended with The Thorn Birds. Well, no more…I have become a fan of her Carmine Delmonico mysteries.

The Prodigal Son is the fourth in the Carmine Delmonico series. I haven’t read the first three installations which may explain why I did find it difficult to keep track of the large cast of characters. The first of the novel dragged a bit for me but the second half really took off and I had a hard time putting the book down before I had finished it.

My daughter has started making friendship bracelets. You know the kind where you have a number of thin threads that you interweave together to form designs. The threads get tangled up and you have to spend time constantly separating them (at least we do!). Well, that is exactly what the second half of this book felt like to me. McCullough built so many layers to this mystery that I was intrigued to the very end. I have virtual whiplash from bouncing back and forth between my own accusations of characters. Even now, having finished the book, I still have my doubts about a few of them.

This was a hard one for me to get into but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. I could recommend it as a stand alone novel to any mystery fans but think it might be even more enjoyable when read as part of the entire series.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Didn't like & didn't finish

Reading The Prodigal Son and other books in the historical crime fiction Carmine Delmonico series, you would never guess that they are written by the same author as The Thorn Birds. Colleen McCullough proves once again that she’s a master of fiction with a wide ranging imagination in this book.

Although this is the fourth book in the series starring Carmine Delmonico, detective in Holloman, Connecticut, the books are easily read as stand-alone novels or out of order. (However, I would recommend all four books to you simply because of the chill down the spine McCullough leaves you with on the last line). These books are set in the 1960s, so the policing is done the ‘old-fashioned’ way without internet, mobile phones or DNA evidence. It provides a fascinating setting that relies on closely observed reactions and mannerisms of suspects, lateral thinking and the odd bit of luck.

Strangely enough for a crime fiction novel, Carmine is happily married detective with children. His wife, Desdemona, plays a supporting role as sounding board and a different view on the crime. In this novel, the crime is once again murder – but the murder weapon is rare. It’s the toxin from fugu (or puffer fish) and it was painstakingly extracted by one of the professors at Chubb university, Millie – who happens to be the daughter of the chief medical examiner. When multiple murders occur, several people stand to benefit from their deaths. Did someone steal Millie’s toxin or was the thief closer to home?

McCullough’s characterisation is also a strongpoint. While we see the return of old favourites like Carmine’s eccentrically dressed colleague, Delia, there are also many new characters to meet. There’s Millie and her husband Jim, Uda the strange servant and some unusual suspects. The subject of racism also comes up in this book, as Jim is a professor trying to be recognised for his ground-breaking work. The only problem is that he’s an African-American man in late 1960’s America. Could Jim have tired of the struggle for equality (which has seen him in hospital with deadly infections) and decided to remove the main man opposed to his book? Or is this a red herring?

The things that set McCullough’s murder mysteries apart is that they are not always concluded satisfactorily or that the ending is open enough to make you wonder if Carmine and his team really have succeeded. The latter can also be very frustrating if you want to see justice done! It is definitely a page turner though and McCullough will have you questions your suspicions for ‘whodunit’ throughout.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

1969 Holloman, Connecticut. ( )