Sleight of Hand

Jo Banks #3

by Robin Hathaway

Dr. Jo Banks is well settled in her rather unusual life as one of the few doctors in the New Jersey fields, her office in a motor inn run by a pair of friendly, elderly Jersey-ites.  But New York City is where she grew up, and there are times when she thinks back to those days with her father.  One day, as she is driving home from her rounds at the hospital in the nearby town, she hears a familiar sound coming from a barn.  It is the hum of an out-of-date printing press, a brand her father used. On an impulse, Jo leaves her motorcycle in the road and walks down to the barn housing the machine.

But the printer is hardly welcoming. While she is trying to talk to him, he catches his hand in the press, and Jo bursts into action.  Although she removes the screws from the roller that is clamping the man’s fingers and offers to drive him to the hospital, he refuses to go and insists she treat him in his home.

The strange episode leads to Jo’s calling daily to attend to the man’s injury.  She learns that he’s living with his daughter—a grown woman who possesses the mind of a child—that they are from New York, and that his wife has mysteriously disappeared.  The printer is roughly grateful for Jo’s care, but he has much on his mind, and he will not leave his house. Jo begins to suspect he is connected to a recent local murder. 

Robin Hathaway rewards her readers with another rich story of the lives of people who live and work in the New Jersey farmland.  Sleight of Hand is a worthy addition to this finely crafted series.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Robin graduated from Germantown Friends School and Smith College (BA/English). While her two daughters were young she owned and operated a printing/advertising firm Barnhouse Press from her home (there was a printing press in the barn and one in the house) and did freelance writing and photography. One daughter claims she was lulled to sleep by the methodical beat of a printing press in the kitchen and a close friend claimed she once found ink in her mashed potatoes!

But Robin had always wanted to write, and on her 50th birthday her husband told her, "It's now or never." So she began. She wrote three mystery novels in three years featuring Dr. Andrew Fenimore, an old-fashioned cardiologist who still made house calls. Robin's amateur sleuth was patterned after her husband, who just happened to also be a cardiologist.

When Robin isn't writing, she does free lance editing, teaches mystery writing, and lectures on the mystery novel at schools, libraries, and other institutions. Her short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Arthur Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Death Knell.
Robin divides her time between Philadelphia and New York City.

Reviews

[Pier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in "Slight of Hand" feel less like characters and more like people. Everyone is struggling, or has something happening behind the scenes, just like in real life. I can't think of a single flat character in this book. All of their actions are believable and make sense. It never felt like something was awkwardly shoehorned-in. Even the minor characters of the book, like Bobby's father, who only gets mentioned in one scene and seen in two, feel real and whole. Same for Bobby's mother, and she only appears in one scene!

There were some grammar issues but they might be unique to my e-book version, so don't put too much weight on that. There weren't many, though- less than five, I think, and they didn't really hinder my reading experience. There are also a few places where the delivery and formatting is a bit clunky and doesn't flow as smoothly as it should. (However, they aren't of much importance when it comes to the main plot line and your understanding of it.)

The mafia bit might have had a simple/easy solution but it isn't that bad. Suspension of disbelief isn't even needed since I could see it plausibly happening. I think how Jo learnt of all the things the Boss guy references from the coroner she met before they kidnapped her, and how Bobby's father happens to have witnessed Regina's death are the "weakest" points of this book. The satisfaction of all the pieces clicking together more than makes up for it, and Hathaway does nicely subvert a trope when it turns out the woman named Regina Jo finds in the city is not Lolly's mother.

The descriptions of the rural New Jersey town this book starts in and, later on, of New York City and its multiple suburbs, are vivid (I may or may not have skimmed some of it, at times, though more so because of my laziness than of any bad writing/descriptors). She does the same in the scene where Jo is sitting in the boat in the middle of the marshes, desperately looking for a way out of the sticky situation she's in. I personally find smells hard to describe but Robin did wonderful, like here:

"[...] The marsh had its own distinctive odor- a mixture of salt and bine and decaying matter. I was used to it, but now as it stole into my nostrils, it had a stronger taint of death than usual.

There is also a part of the book where Jo is digging into the ground looking for Regina's body. Hathaway paints the stillness of nighttime in the country and how oppressive it can feel wonderfully. Here are some other favorites of mine:

"So now you know. [...]Would you like me to show you a few tricks?" His voice took on the high-pitched treble of the practiced performer. "Max the Amazing will now disappear in a puff of smoke!"

In a crowded theater, it might have sounded exciting, but in the midst of empty field and sky, it sounded eerie.

"My Honda, on the other hand, scares the fauna- and gives whiplash to the flora. But not my bicycle. My bicycle causes barely a ripple in the grass as I glide by. And, in return, the birds stay put on their perches, the small mammals take time to glance at me with their bright black eyes, and the wildflowers nod a gentle greeting."

One ending for a chapter struck me in particular:

"[...]But there was nothing I could do about it. As I trolled down the drive, I glanced across the field. The sinking sun had struck the woods, and the trees looked on fire."

This part stuck with me long after the book ended. A beautiful passage, the delivery and execution of it done perfectly. It is, if I haven’t said before, a very atmospheric book.

All in all, I recommend this book. Deserves a higher rating. Would give it 4.5 stars if I could.

[Jean Perry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad! I picked it up as a mystery set in NJ. Much of her info that related to NJ was wrong, including Jo paying for the NJ TPK as she entered the tpk!?! Seems insignificant, but doesn't everybody know you pay at the end of your trip on ANY turnpike? Things happen that had little explanation as to why. After reading the chapter of her being kidnapped by the "mafia" , i asked "why was this chapter included" and never did find out. Big disappointment.

[Shirley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would not recommend. Poor style, everything wrapped up all too easily, seemingly endless "lucky breaks", and no good reason why Jo Banks chose to get so involved in the first place. Only good I can say about it is a sympathic treatment of a person with Down's Syndrome.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just too far-fetched - it really didn’t make much sense. She made way too much of a big deal over squashed fingers - people have been known to do wonderful things without a hand!

This was Ms Hathaway’s 3rd and final book in the series - she died, so we’ll never know if Jo marries Tom I hope not) or what happens to Nick Nelson!!

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just an easy quick review, this book was very entertaining, and very fast read. The plot was decent, and the writing was perfect for this story. Definitely a clever, fun, and easy read, would recommend if you just want something casual.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Jo Banks mystery series. Jo is a very engaging, motorcycle riding, house doctor in a south NJ motel. Robin Hathaway had additional works planned but cancer caught up with her and she passed away in 2013 at 79.

Dr. Jo Banks encounters an injured printer in a rural barn. Against her better judgment, she treats him outside a hospital so he won't have to leave his mentally challenged daughter. His backstory emerges to reveal his fear of old criminal charges concerning his fugitive wife.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

well done

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got better towards the end, but for being such a short book was kinda slow.