Description
Homicide My Own resides in that strange and fascinating land between mystery fiction and detective fiction, adjoined with the mystique of philosophy and Native American customs. It’s a story of two slog-bottom cops from Spokane, Washington, who are assigned to what appears to be a routine mission: They’re to go to an Indian reservation on the Northwest coast and pick up a man who’s being held for kidnapping a teen-aged girl. Once there, however, one of the cops (given the unusual moniker of “Odd”) becomes obsessed with a decades-old murder, the only unsolved murder in the island’s history, and he really doesn’t want to head back to Spokane until he’s found some resolution. His partner, Quinn, the acid-tongued menopausal wife of a decent and boring pharmacist (and the novel’s narrator) finds Odd’s behavior rather amusing at first, but then finds it to be much more than amusing. In an intriguing character study, Anne Argula has developed a novel that not only forces a reader to keep turning the pages; it goes so far as to force the reader to look at life – and death – in a new and uncharacteristic way. Pick this book up at your own risk. You may find yourself having lost not only the next few hours but also your sense of confidence in, as one might say, “the world as you know it.”
“Wry humor, straight-talking characters, and shades of the supernatural flavor this cleverly written debut police procedural….strongly recommended.” -Library Journal, April 2005
- The Last Detail (New York: Dial Press, 1970)
- Goldengrove (New York: Dial Press, 1971)
- Andoshen, Pa. (New York: Dial Press, 1973)
- Cinderella Liberty (New York: Harper and Row, 1973)
- Tom Mix Died for Your Sins (New York: Delacorte Press 1975)
- The Accomplice (New York: Harper and Row, 1975)
- The Ringmaster (New York: Delacorte Press, 1978)
- An Unmarried Man (New York: Delacorte Press 1980)
- Last Flag Flying (The Wright Press, 2005)
- Homicide My Own (as Anne Argula) (New York: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2005)
- Walla Walla Suite: A Room with No View (as Anne Argula) (New York: Ballantine, 2007)
- Krapp’s Last Cassette (as Anne Argula) (Ballantine, 2009) [cf. Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett]
- The Last Romanian (as Anne Argula) (New York: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2012)
Library Journal –
“Wry humor, straight-talking characters, and shades of the supernatural flavor this cleverly written debut police procedural. Two Spokane cops named Quinn and Odd, a female/male team, drive to an island in the Northwest Indian Territory to pick up a bail-jumper wanted for statutory rape. While there, Odd becomes suddenly psychic after reading about the 30-year-old unsolved murder of an Indian boy and his white girlfriend. Since their bail-jumper is sick, they have just enough time to investigate; and it soon becomes evident that Odd’s visions come from the murdered girl…strongly recommended.”
Kirkus Reviews, Jan. 2005 –
A loopy, immensely likable debut, both less and more than a conventional mystery. One can only imagine the sequel.
Round Table Reviews –
As debut Author Argula spins her tale, Officer Quinn struggles with her aging body, hot flashes, temper, and hormonal imbalances….
I Love a Mystery –
The author’s talented; she kept me reading. Did I like this book? I think so. Maybe you will too.