45. Drink the Tea - Thomas Kaufman

Adult Murder Mystery
Minotaur Books, 2010
294 pages
HC $24.99
Rating: 5

This is a first novel for Thomas Kaufman. And I loved it. Clever. Humorous. He spent a lot of time on the setting, describing where in Washington D.C. things took place. If only I knew Washington D. C., I'd be in heaven!

Willis Gidney grew up a child of the streets of DC, never knowing his real name, his real birth date, or where he came from. He was a child of the system - and he'd learned every in and out, every twist and turn. He was a con man by ten, a survivor. And now he is a grown man, trying to find his place in the world.

We are introduced to a lot of characters in this book - so many that at first I had a hard time keeping up with who was who. But that's because Willis told "his" story in the first person, flipping back and forth between scraps of memory from his childhood years and his current life - which, in his new job as a PI, was solving a mystery. And many of the faces from his childhood still appear in his life...whether in person or in his thoughts. The story of his childhood is compelling, slowly unfolding to the very end of the book, and the mystery he unravels is the same way, we are taunted and tempted with bits and pieces of information that are cleverly wound together. Surprises, action, adventure, this is a fun fun fun mystery.

Willis' first job as a wisecracking PI is to try to find the 25 year-old daughter that his jazz-saxophone-playing-friend Steps Jackson has just discovered he had. This leads Willis all over Washington DC, from the office buildings of the capital to the police station to the dregs of the city. Shady politicians, ruthless corporations, nerdy chemistry geeks turned drug dealers...this story covers a wide spectrum.

The big question to ponder: Where does a man/woman's humanity come from? What makes it? What changes it?

And the title: Drink the Tea? Well, it's nice to get an answer to this .... you can drink the tea no matter how sour or strong it is. Hey, sometimes you just have to add a bit of sugar!