The Accidental Pallbearer

November 26, 2012
Near the outset of this uneven first in a new crime series from Lentricchia (The Book of Ruth), Utica, N.Y., PI Eliot Conte, son of a New York State political kingmaker, tells his oldest friend, Antonio Robinson, he’s recently learned that the police suspect his ex-wife, Nancy, is the one who bludgeoned their two daughters to death in Laguna Beach, Calif., apparently following through on a threat to get back at him. Robinson, who landed the position of Utica police chief through the elder Conte’s influence, suggests that killing Nancy is the appropriate next step, but Conte feels nothing in the face of this devastating news. Of more concern is pursuing a man Conte will soon witness abusing his baby daughter on a train. Lentricchia, dubbed the “Dirty Harry of literary criticism” by the Village Voice, does a good job of depicting the quotidian nature of most PI work, but the plot starts out stronger than it finishes. Agent: Deirdre Mullane, Deirdre Mullane Literary.

February 1, 2013
Novelist and literary critic Lentricchia inaugurates a new private-eye series with this often-nasty but fairly intriguing story featuring former academic (former, by way of an unfortunate incident involving a UCLA provost) Eliot Conte. Like Lentricchia, Conte is a native of the upstate New York city of Utica, where most of this novel is set (the balance takes place in equally grim Troy, New York). Son of a local political boss and fixer, and friend (virtual brother) of the city's African American police chief, Contewhom we hope is developed more deeply as the series progresseshere is embroiled, along with Chief Robinson, in a tale involving old and new killings, sexual scandal, and an intricate web of interrelated local crimes. Lentricchia captures the feel of upstate New York (Richard Russo territory) and of Italian American culture within a familiar genre, with predictable grit and wit. We hope to see more of Conte and perhaps of his promising romantic interest, a Troy policewoman.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)