Zen and The Art of Murder
A Zen Moses Mystery
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
To live and die in L.A.
Zen Moses is either having a bad day or bad karma. Her cat is dead. The IRS wants to talk to her. And she just found her long-lost cousin's body bound to a beer keg at her favorite neighborhood bar. It's enough to drive even a tough private investigator to drink, smoke a good cigar, and find a firm male shoulder to cry on.
But cynical, wise-cracking Zen is both a loner and survivor. At thirty-three she's already beat a bout with cancer-- and soon she's being offered big bucks to find a talk-show celebrity's missing father. It seems like an easy job until Zen finds out she's just one step ahead of a hit man. Now Zen's professional and private lives are converging into a world of murder and gunplay...and the sound of one hand clapping may end up being bang bang.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The mystery genre has a full complement of tough female PIs in Southern California; it also has plenty of ex-jocks (see review of Crossroad Blues, above). Even so, Cosin's newcomer, who fits in both camps, stands out in this worthy debut. Zen Moses, a Santa Monica PI, gave up sports journalism after she lost her temper and decked the World Series MVP. Hard-boiled, wise-cracking Zen also survived a bout with cancer two years ago, which caused her to lose a lung. During the holiday season, her cat having recently died, a distinctly depressed Zen stops in at her neighborhood bar and is on the scene when her cousin, Daniel Moses, is found dead in the bar's walk-in refrigerator. Zen thought Danny had committed suicide 12 years ago, following an argument with her. Looking into his murder now seems the least she can do, even though she's occupied with another case that has her searching for the long-lost father of a TV talk-show host. Cosin is at her best with sharply observed geographical and cultural details as Zen pursues leads from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills, Fresno, Mexico and beyond. Along for the ride are her sidekick and mentor, Bobo La Douceur, some stray friends and family members, hit men and cops (both good and bad). Although the pace is fast and the loose ends are tied up neatly, readers may struggle to like the sardonic and somewhat antisocial Zen, a woman who rarely seems to notice the effects of lung cancer and even treats herself to an occasional cigar.
