Book Review: Karma and Other Stories

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Karma and Other Stories     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Susan Dunlap
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Five Star, Jul 2002, $24.95, 268 pp.

Though well written, this is a strange compilation. The collection consists of a reprint of a Jill Smith novel (Karma), a Jill Smith short story (A Contest Fit for a Queen) and a non-Smith short story (The Court of Celestial Appeals).

The non-Smith tale is different, weird, and fun as the protagonist is a dead sleuth investigating a homicide, however the reason to read this anthology is Jill Smith, an interesting Berkley cop. Fans of the series will have a chance to read Karma, released in the pre - Windows 1980s yet a novel that remains fresh as Jill investigates the death of a guru. Though this reviewer would have preferred three Smith tales, as the Celestial Detective seems in the wrong anthology, Susan Dunlap’s collection demonstrates the author’s ability to tell a solid crime tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner