Review: "Letters From a Dead Armadillo," by Wendy Boucher

By ESTHER HAMMER

Published: May 27, 2007

"Letters From a Dead Armadillo," by Wendy Boucher (Self-published, $13.50)

When south Tampa transplant Wendy Boucher wrote her first novel, "Parvenue Throws a Party," she drew on personal experiences to tell a humorous tale of an outsider having difficulties fitting into the south Tampa social scene. She goes within herself again for her second novel, a mystery.

One character, Karen, suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, as does Boucher. And, also like Boucher, Karen has an obsessive fear she has run over somebody while driving, a fear that causes her to drive very slowly and compels her to go back over her route and search for bodies.

Karen's disorder is not just a sideline. It drives the plot and helps ensnare her and her friends in a murder investigation. Set in south Tampa at a fictional law school, there's a familiarity for Tampa readers with the heat, lightning, thunderstorms, sinkholes and places described in the book.

But the novel goes beyond familiar. It draws you in with the first sentence: "There were other cars on the highway this evening but one particular set of headlamps had Nola worried." A convoluted plot and energetic characters offer plenty of intrigue.

Boucher's portrayal of law students and lawyers is flawless, possibly owing to her previous experience as both. And she knows how to manipulate plot elements to keep the suspense high and the action moving. It's a keeper from start to finish.

The novel is available at local bookstores and at www.wendyboucher.com.

Esther Hammer is a Tribune correspondent.