Gone to Dust

June 12, 2017
At the start of Emmy Award–winning TV writer and playwright Goldman’s well-paced, humorous fiction debut, the police call Minneapolis-based PI Nils “Shap” Shapiro to a crime scene at the home of divorcée Maggie Somerville in Edina, Minn. Inside the house, it looks as if someone has dumped the contents of innumerable vacuum-cleaner bags over every surface, including Maggie’s dead body, which is lying on her bed. Shap’s sleuthing into this bizarre murder takes him from picture-perfect suburbs to the extravagant mansion of a wealthy real estate tycoon. Along the way, he passes through the apartment of a beautiful medical student and the plant-filled, overheated home of an entrepreneurial organic sheep farmer, with stops at many a bar and restaurant. With his wry, observant eye and quick wit, plus a pressing need to follow the truth into dark, uncharted places, Shap is a more optimistic version of Ross MacDonald’s Lew Archer. Readers will look forward to his next investigative adventure. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.

Starred review from June 1, 2017

Minneapolis PI Nils Shapiro, unsuccessfully trying to forget his ex-wife while coping with a brutal winter, is asked by former police colleagues to investigate a vicious crime that lacks traceable evidence. The body of the murder victim, Maggie Somerville, was covered with dust from emptied vacuum cleaner bags to eliminate potential DNA evidence. Shapiro digs into Maggie's life and finds a shadowy connection to a mysterious young woman; his probe also comes into conflict with an FBI investigation, but despite being warned off the case, Shapiro tracks down a calculating murderer to expose a cover-up with disturbing repercussions. VERDICT Emmy Award-winning writer Goldman (for Seinfeld and Ellen), who began his career as a stand-up comedian, not surprisingly blends his storytelling with irreverent humor. His tough yet vulnerable PI, evocative Minneapolis setting, and clever plot, which features a distinctive crime scene and multiple red herrings, will engage and intrigue. [See Jessica Moyer's "Novel Crime Scenes," LJ 4/15/17.]--ACT

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