Practice the Jealous Arts: Two Ross Agency Mysteries

Practice the Jealous Arts: Two Ross Agency Mysteries

The private investigators at the Ross Agency in Harlem specialize in tracking down lost checks and missing relatives and solving other mundane mysteries. Murder isn’t normally on their plate, but when it is, they rise to the occasion. Practice the Jealous Arts continues the adventures of private eyes S J Rook, Sabrina Ross, and her father Norment, who made their debuts in Lost and Found in Harlem. First, Rook is asked to help his NYPD buddy Archie Lin investigate the murder of an elderly math teacher at the prestigious Harlem Select School. Someone hated the mathematician enough to try to divide her head in two. Lin’s stumped and hopes Rook and the Rosses can find a motive in a tangled web of suspects that includes teachers, students, and parents. After Rook cracks the first case, he accepts an out-of-town assignment with Sabrina. A celebrated artist has asked the agency to provide security on his farm. Caught up in the artist’s troubled, twisted family dynamic, Rook and Sabrina quickly discover rural life is long on drama and violence. Welcome back to the Ross Agency. If you’ve got a mystery, they’ve got a solution— whether you approve or not. "Rook is a modern, hard-boiled antihero; as the story carries on, he demonstrates ability, humility, decency, and respect and concern for Harlem and its inhabitants... Pitts lovingly illustrates what life is like in a vibrant Harlem, showing people from different walks of life, nationalities, and socio-economic statuses. The neighborhood features prominently not only as a setting, but as a character all its own." -- *Kirkus* *Reviews* Practice the Jealous Arts by Delia C. Pitts consists of two short novellas. Each novella follows Rook and Brina, members of the Ross Agency security firm. While their romantic relationship isn't the focus of either story, it does see some effective development as time goes on. The first novella is a spin on a rather traditional murder mystery plot; Rook must solve a string of murders that revolve around Harlem Select, an elite private school. In the second novella, Rook and Brina are hired as security for a reclusive shoemaker and his daughters. Pitts brings a new and refreshing voice to the murder mystery genre. All of her plot elements play out in the dramatic pseudo-realism so common to the noir genre, but the characters are very nuanced and never feel like caricatures. Her descriptions straddle the line between poetic and prosaic with ease, painting mental pictures without being overly verbose... ...While the main character is a man, the female characters are written like actual women, rather than props to further their male counterparts' stories. I realized after finishing the book that, with one minor exception, I had no idea what the women's breasts looked like! That practically never happens with stories written by male authors. Pitts also does a great job writing a variety of African American characters, which only makes sense, as she is a woman of color herself... ...It's also a great book to pick up if you want to support stories by African American or female authors. The writing style is unique, the characters are interesting and varied, and the mysteries themselves are very well-executed, with more focus on moral quandaries than simply piecing together clues. For these reasons, I rate Practice the Jealous Arts 4 out of 4 stars. --OnlineBookReviews IndieReader Approved. Rating 5/5 stars. "Mystery novelist Delia C. Pitts is masterful at building character, setting, tension, and plot twists. She also turns phrases to perfection... PRACTICE THE JEALOUS ARTS is a masterful sequel to the first book in her Ross Agency Series." -- IndieReaderCom