Sirk TV Book Review: ICE CAP [Minotaur]

The creating of a lawyer/would-be do-gooder in the Hamptons strains credibility from the get-go. However, with the advent of "Royal Pains" on USA, the idea of eccentricity instead of pure egotism comes about to affect those who have not spent time near the reaches of Montauk. In "Ice Cap" [Chris Knopf/Minotaur/304pgs], which varies against what one might perceive of the title, the narrative follows Jackie, a local real estate broker turned semi-pro private investigator simply out to be her own person but, through happenstance, becomes a target of her own insinuations along the way. Not unlike the aspects of an Elmore Leonard novel, the surrounding characters for all their human problems come out as distinctly tongue-in-cheek despite some possibly overwrought cliches. After a member of her extended family is accidently killed under what could be seen as mysterious circumstances, Jackie begins investigating on her own. Her personal life, including sleeping above her office and watching her security camera, make her more than a little paranoid though her boyfriend seemingly has a handle on her moods. An influx of Russian mail-order brides and what becomes more of a Eastern Bloc mafia pissing match gone wrong creates some interesting back and forth though ultimately the keystone capers seem more like "Big Trouble" than "Out Of Sight". All Jackie wants is a drink and, with the distinctive undoing of some actual honest cops out on the Island, she gets a perception of what might have happened. Like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, life happens around Jackie and with a bit of cleverness, she tends to get lucky. The paradox is that her own life is surrounded by a bit of mystery though she sees it as pure coincidence of happenstance.C-