Check It Out

Every spring since 1946, the Mystery Writers of America have solved

the case of the best mysteries published the previous year. Honored

suspects receive the coveted Edgar Allen Poe Award, widely recognized as

the Academy Award of writing involving crime, sleuths and intrigue.

For “Silent Joe,” his ninth thriller, local author T. Jefferson Parker

has received the 2002 Edgar for best novel. The moody tale is set locally

and stars Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Trona -- a man scarred for

life by his biological father, who threw acid in his face when he was an

infant.

Rescued from an orphanage by charismatic politician Will Trona, Joe is

swept into his adoptive father’s circle of power. When Will is murdered

before his eyes, the dutiful son embarks on an investigation that becomes

a personal voyage through family secrets.

A violent murder also launches “Line of Vision,” attorney David Ellis’

best first novel Edgar Award-winner. Found at the crime scene is

investment banker Marty Kalish, who has broken into the house of his

married lover to find her beaten by her husband. When Marty learns that

the police are planning to charge his girlfriend with the crime, he

confesses, and seeds for a spellbinding whodunit are planted.

Teens looking for literary action will find it in Tim Wynne-Jones’

“The Boy in the Burning House,” honored as a best young adult mystery.

Playing the villain is Father Fisher, who leads the Church of the Blessed

Transfiguration in a remote farming community. When Fisher’s bad-girl

stepdaughter tells 14-year-old Jim Hawkins that the pastor is responsible

for the death of his father, embers of the past fuel the confused teen’s

search for truth.

For those who prefer true tales, Kent Walker serves up background

about the capers of his con artist mom and brother in “Son of a Grifter.”

Named best fact crime novel, the book catalogues the scams of Sante Kimes

and her son, Kenny, both convicted last year of murdering a millionaire

heiress in New York City. As an account of the psychological price of

being raised by a sociopath, this is a riveting read about a clan in

which one son evolves into a killer and the other lives to tell the tale.

Mystery motion pictures did not escape scrutiny. Honored with an Edgar

as best of the bunch was “Memento,” now available on videotape on library

shelves. Like most of the 2002 award-winners, this one begins with a

murder, a revenge killing. While violence initiates the action, it’s the

end of the story about a man who lost his memory through an injury

sustained during his wife’s murder. To compensate, Leonard Shelby tattoos

himself with mementos of data he encounters on a hunt to find the killer.

Whether he’s successful or not is less interesting than the trip itself

into a complex world viewers are likely to recall long after the curtain

closes.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Claudia Peterman. All titles may be reserved from home or office

computers by accessing the catalog at www.newportbeachlibrary.org.