Book Review – Suspicious Circumstances

Author: Sandra Ruttan
Publisher: Tico Publishing
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: January 2007

When a man shows up in reporter Lara Kelly’s office with a video that appears to show a woman falling to her death, Lara is intrigued but suspicious. The man claims he went to the police, but that they refused to investigate. Under pressure from her editor to use the video to build a story about the incompetence of the local police captain, Lara gathers enough evidence to print a story about a suspected suicide. Detective Tymen Farraday, the newest cop in a precinct plagued by scandal, is ordered to investigate and discredit the reporter if necessary. When potential evidence is stolen and Lara is attacked, Farraday is forced to put his grudge against reporters aside and work with the journalist to solve the murder while trying to protect her from the killer.

Suspicious Circumstances is the third great debut from January that I read. Its a compelling read that makes me wish it wasn’t a debut just so I could go out and buy her other books, but sadly it is a debut and there aren’t more books for me to rush out and buy. I’m tempted to become like an impatient child in the backseat of the car on a long road trip and send “are we there yet” type emails to Ruttan, Sakey & Chercover every day that say “Are you done yet, are you done yet.”

This book has two big strengths going for it: its characters and the twists in the plot.

The two main characters Ty and Lara have an easy chemistry between them. At one point a minor character says that the two of them have sexual chemistry. I’m not too sure if that’s the case though. Not yet anyway, if these characters are used again in future novels it could develop into that. They do have an ease and comfort around each other. Their dialogue is filled with banter that rings true and brings out other facets of their personalities. Almost all of the characters are developed through dialogue which is one of the most natural and realistic ways for an author to develop a character. They really are great together and I hope to see at least one more book with the paring. To Ruttan’s credit also she lets their relationship unfold naturally and doesn’t rush them into situations where they might kiss, hug, sleep together or have a touch that lingers just a second too long. Their personalities click in many ways before they even slightly suspect or begin to admit to themselves that there is chemistry there.

The simple premise of the plot and Lara and Ty’s subsequent investigation is a first cut that strikes deep. It exposes a conspiracy of corruption that extends further then anyone thought was possible. Ruttan proves to be very adept at twisting the plot and yanking the rug out from under her characters with the continuous revealing of information. The reveals in this book are like a popcorn machine. They start off slow then very quickly speed up to maintain a relentless pace that rarely falters and never lets up.

I did however have a couple of small problems with the book. While they did bother me they didn’t have a drastic effect on my overall opinion of the book. Both problems have to do with sub-plots. To illustrate my problems with them I will be discussing them in specifics. The sub-plots in question aren’t integral to the plot but could slightly affect ones reading experience. So read the next 4 paragraphs at your own peril.

For a book that thrives and succeeds in providing fully realized, compelling, vibrant characters one character in particular stood out as the biggest weakness of the book: Ty’s sister Trin. Her weaknesses are further amplified by the presence of another character, Captain Collins, who stands as a successful example of a supporting character in this book.

When we first meet Trin we are led to believe, through the eyes of Lara that she is Ty’s ex-girlfriend. This simple misunderstanding leads to some mild dramatic tension before the confusion is finally cleared up. It also serves to link Trin to Captain Collins because he spends the first part of the book under the assumption that Lara is a man. By their very nature supporting characters cannot be expected to carry a goodly portion of the story, or to put it another way it is important to make sure that not too much of the plot hangs on them, if you pile too much on them they simply collapse under the weight. So, after we have had our fun with the Captain’s misconceptions about Lara’s gender he then spends the rest of the book simply fulfilling his role as captain as well as providing support and backup as needed for Ty and Lara, so in other words he is a police officer. But Trin on the other hand is asked, throughout the entirety of the story, to carry to much weight. She exists solely as a slave to the plot and too many later plot points hinge on her. She is the only exposed beam in the story, we see her for her function instead of who she is.

To get even more specific. After our misconception about her relationship with Ty is cleared up it turns out that she too is a reporter and thus sets out to investigate whatever it is that Ty and Lara is up to. Then it turns out that she is also a cop working for internal affairs, then she happens to know the one reporter who has information that is important to the case, then she stands (unknowingly of course) between Ty & Lara, then her reporter friend gets beaten up and gives her up to the bad guys so that she can be used as bait to draw Ty out into the open. Whew, I’m exhausted just writing that summary. Now imagine how poor Trin feels.

I also have some problems with how two of the sub-plots wrapped themselves up into nice neat packages at the very end.

Bottom line is while I did have some minor problems with the book they were far outweighed by its strengths.

So, Mrs. Ruttan, are you done yet?

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