Cold Rain

December 13, 2010
An unsympathetic lead and a soap operaish plot mar this mystery thriller. Soon after independently wealthy English professor David Albo returns from a sabbatical to his unnamed university in the Midwest, Leslie Blackwell, the attractive head of the affirmative action office, accuses him of sexually harassing two of his students. When Molly, Albo's wife, sees the diary of one of his accusers detailing their encounter, Molly orders him from their home at gun point. With his life falling apart, the academic devotes himself to proving that he was set up, with smarmy TA Buddy Elder, the boyfriend of one of the co-eds, as his prime suspect. Albo's troubles only get worse after one of the women disappears, a possible victim of foul play. Smith (The Painted Messiah) writes smoothly, but many readers will tire of the disagreeable Albo early on.

January 1, 2011
It wouldnt be entirely accurate to say that David Albo, an associate professor at a small university, was looking forward to coming back to work after a sabbatical. But the promise of a full professorship has him thinking positively. That changes quickly, however, after he meets and takes an immediate dislike to a charismatic student. Soon David finds his life under attack. Two female students file sexual harassment charges against him, he is suspended, his wife kicks him out, and one of the students disappears, putting David under suspicion for murder. With David as the narrator, we see events through his eyes, and we know only what he tells us. And heres the thing: David can be, when the situation calls for it (or just for fun), quite the accomplished liar. Even as we empathize with David and hope he can extricate himself from this situation, we recognize that he is not an entirely reliable narrator, and we cant help wondering if we really know the truth. A fine novel, suspenseful and impossible to stop reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)