Extenuating Circumstances

Harry Stoner Mystery #8

by Jonathan Valin

To PI Harry Stoner, Ira Lessing had everything to live money, a beautiful wife, good friends, and a reputation that would do credit to a saint. But Lessing disappeared one hot July night, and Stoner knew in his gut that the man was dead. Years on the street had taught Stoner that no man is what he seems. Peeling away layers to the bone would reveal what had become of Lessing. It would lead Stoner into the underbelly of Cincinnati, into the places where desire and violence meet, into the darkest byways of the human heart where his own values would be tested to the bloody limit, by acts of love-and murder.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective

Hardcover

First published February 1, 1989

About the author

Jonathan Valin is an American mystery author best known for the Harry Stoner detective series. He won the Shamus Award for best mystery novel of 1989. After writing eleven Harry Stoner novels over a 14-year period, he took a break from mystery writing to help found Fi, a magazine of music criticism. He now works as an editor and reviewer for magazines.

He is an alumnus of the University of Chicago and lived there for many years.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Extenuating Circumstances" features Harry Stoner, private eye. In his eighth appearance, Stoner describes his assignment to find missing Ira Lessing, a businessman from Cincinnati, Ohio, beloved for his generous help to troubled teens.

Stoner is with Lessing's childlike wife Janey, and his partner, Len Trumaine, when they learn that Lessing's body has been discovered, brutally beaten. A teenager, Terry Carnova, not only confesses but boasts of killing Lessing, but Stoner isn't convinced.

"Extenuating Circumstances" in particular and the Harry Stoner series in general is recommended to those readers who aren’t offended by strong language, on page violence, and occasional sex.

This was a Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1990).

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know, I know … I’m never satisfied. First, I criticize Valin’s first couple of mysteries are a little too “writerly,” too—in least in patches—filled with remarkable graceful, the kind (and here’s the rub) that call undue attention to themselves. This time, Valin thoroughly disciplines himself, constructing a thoroughly respectable mystery, with all the qualities a respectable mystery is supposed to have. Sinewy, accomplished prose, with no purple passage. And yet I’m still not satisfied. This time Valin played it too safe.

Don’t let me discourage you from reading this, though. You’ve have to love Valin’s best as much as I do—those great books Natural Causes, Life’s Work, and Fire Lake—to be disappointed with Extenuating Circumstances. It does exactly what it sets out to do.

Detective Harry Stoner is hired to find Ira Lessing, recently gone missing man in Covington, Kentucky—man of wealth, city commissioner, pillar of the community—best known for his continual, selfless acts of charity to scores of young addicts struggling to restore their broken lives. But when Lessing’s car is discovered filled with blood, and rumors surface hinting that Lessing’s charitable payments to young male addict may not have been about charity after all, the case suddenly looks a good deal different to Stoner than it had before.

As I said: go ahead, read it. So what if it’s not quite a masterpiece? It’s still better than the best books of many mystery writers. Read it. You'll like it.

It’s a safe bet. It won the "Shamus." So a lot of people must have liked it a little more than I did.

[R.J. Spears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Valin is one of the most underrated mystery writers from the 80s and 90s and this is probably one of the best in the Harry Stoner series. Yes, this probably one of the roughest of the series and the ending packs a real punch, but Valin is a subtly good writer, capturing the PI genre as well as any.

[Cindy B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Homosexual prostitution (street children), murder, no cussing - author's novels are usually 'adult,' which (apparently) is too mature for me. ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ Audiobook well read.

[Ritch Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harry Stoner mysteries are pretty solid overall. Harry is a PI with a strong sense of duty and a bit of a homophobic streak that is appropriate to the era the book is set in.

This story is less engaging than others in the catalog. Harry spends much of the book trying not to take the case, while deeply involved. This is the story of a high-profile philanthropist who is missing and somehow wrapped up in nefarious young men in his charity. Valin crafts a pretty good tale here, but it doesn't measure up to some of the other Stoner mysteries. Harry makes a very specific choice in dealing with a prime suspect, that seems more brutal than he was in the proceeding tales, and I am not sure I side with him taking the law into his hands so decisively. The ending is a little more ambiguous and left me asking some questions about who really killed who, but I enjoyed reading this one once I got into it.

[Hunybadger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty dark subject, which probably was much more taboo and less known when the book was published in 1990. Valin does a good job creating a wary yet compassionate PI, a not-so-easy feat.

[John Stisk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the best detective novel I have ever read.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best PI series from the '80's.......

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent entry in this hard-boiled PI series set in Cincinnati. I love the author's lean writing style (only 234 pgs.) though the plot was extremely dark. This won the Shamus award for best PI novel back in 1990.

[Elly Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

ugly adult content but a good read and an eye-opener. phew...

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: in his bones Harry Stoner feels that Ira Lessing is dead. Why? Harry needs to learn more about Ira.