Legally Dead by Edna Buchanan
A New Character by the Creator of the Britt Montero Series
Bestselling author, Edna Buchanan takes a break from her popular Britt Montero series to create a new and intriguing character in former US Marshall Michael Venturi. Venturi is a New Yorker, former marine, and fed up with working for the witness protection program. When one of his "clients" reverts back to his "killing" ways in the small Connecticut town where Venturi has relocated him, Venturi has had enough.
Venturi on His Own
After settling his obligations in Connecticut (effectively ending his US Marshall career), Venturi sets off to South Florida to look up his former Marine partner, who is now married with kids, but still up for adventure. Venturi has some funds available due to a settlement in the Staten Island ferry accident that took the life of his wife and unborn daughter several years before. Now he'd like to reinvent himself. He's just not sure how or in what form.
Opportunity presents itself when Venturi encounters a man while fishing in the Everglades. The man has just slit his throat in a clumsy attempt at suicide. He would have succeeded if Venturi hadn't just happened to be there. After taking him home, Venturi learns that the man's like is ruined because he's been blamed with okaying a NASA mission that ended in disaster. He can't find a job; can't rent an apartment; and has moved a dozen times in just a few years. Venturi decides to lend his identity-creating skills to help the man.
A Lethal Connection
Soon Venturi and his former partner have found several worthy individuals to assist. What's more, Venturi has found a girlfriend, a new house, and is starting to come out of the haze in which he's been living since his wife died. Before he can become too proud of his accomplishments, however, Venturi's former "clients"--relocated witnesses--begin to be murdered. At first, it seemed an odd coincidence, but after three such murders, the connection is inescapable.
Legally Dead creates an intriguing character in Michael Venturi. It also addresses that common fantasy of what would happen if one just started over. However, the plot drags a bit in the middle. The first murder doesn't happen until past the middle of the book. Buchanan also leaves the reader wanting to know a lot more about Venturi, presumably so that she can continue the series with more to say. It's not a bad book; it's just not up to the quality of the Britt Montero mysteries.
About Edna Buchanan
Edna Buchanan, a former reporter for the Miami Herald, is the author of seventeen novels and numerous short story collections. She has been nominated for two Edgar awards and has been awarded the George Polk Award for Career Achievement in Journalism as well as a Pulitzer Prize for a collection of her short crime stories. She lives in Miami.
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