The Infinite Blacktop (Claire DeWitt Mysteries #3)

If you like reading Laura Lippman, you will love reading The Infinite Blacktop by Sara Gran. In The Infinite Blacktop Sara weaves a fast-paced, moving thriller of a highly intelligent, but deeply damaged young private detective Claire DeWitt as she runs toward the truth of her case and herself. Beautifully written. Here are a few quick examples of the smart prose: Howie’s headlights sliced white through the black air, skittering across the road like a snake. “A gift,” he said, through a tight and unhappy jaw. But age isn’t just time passing. It’s time breaking you—your will, your heart, your beliefs. Richter’s breaks were written in the deep wrinkles in his skin, in his tired posture, in his large, sagging hands. Sara is a writer on her way up. Great read!

I first learned about Sara Gran from her book Come Closer (a creepy book that made me feel uncomfortable about being alone in the house). Wanting to read more, I found and read the first Dewitt novel. I love mystery novels (though not normally noir-style mysteries), and the book\’s uniqueness struck me. What I tend to dislike about noir novels is how unlikable the main characters are–their self-destructiveness seems to have no justification and I just become frustrated. In this series, Dewitt overcomes that, as a character, for me as her existential crisis and the way world works for her (towards her?) gives me a character I can both justify her actions and kind of like her (though I don\’t think I\’d ever want to meet the character in real life). On top of that, if for nothing else, Sara Gran is just an amazing writer. Her sentences, narrative structure, and the details that appear disconnected but led to interesting payoffs makes me enjoy reading a genre that I don\’t normally enjoy.

I found it somewhat hard to follow; it jumped around seemingly at times without much purpose. Lots of characters in lots of places with distant connections. I found most of the characters so flawed that it was hard to sympathize or really like them. I kept hoping it would knit together so I would get the point of the scattered episodes. It was well enough written to stick with it, but it ended without much satisfaction. Many readers seemed to like it. I guess I just didn\’t get it.

If you got hooked on Claire Dewitt in \”the city of the dead\” you will read any new Claire book, of course. Nothing\’s will ever satisfy like that first time you met Claire, but you\’ll read it anyway. And tell yourself you liked it. But \”city\” will always be your first and best. That said, this edition satisfies in that there are multiple cases being worked simultaneously in different years. So more Claire. And if you didn\’t get this review, then you\’re probably not already a Claire fan. And you should definitely start with \”city of the dead\”.

This book is now on my list of best books read. While Claire has many personal issues, she is working on them. Her self awareness and philosophical reflections are revealed as she wends her way through three mysteries she is focusing on throughout the novel explore what it means to be human. This is storytelling at its best – well written and very engaging.

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