Electric City

Jane Da Silva #3

by K.K. Beck

A mousy, secretive researcher at a news-clipping service who recently won $20,000 on "Jeopardy!" is missing. Who is Irene March?

That's the answer (in the form of a question) facing investigator Jane da Silva, who can collect on her eccentric uncle's vast legacy only when she solves a mystery that's stumped everyone else. When Jane places a large "Have you seen this woman?" ad in the Seattle paper, she gets intriguing responses from a rodeo queen, a dying child, and a disgraced church deacon... leads that send Jane east of the Cascades.

By the time she gets to Electric City, the site of more violence, she realizes that Irene March's placid exterior shielded a cunning, even ruthless soul. And a deadly dangerous game that could have people asking, "Who killed Jane da Silva?"

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

About the author

Kathrine Kristine Beck Marris (born 1950), known mainly by her pen name of K. K. Beck, is an American novelist. She has written over a dozen books, some of which were part of the Iris Cooper novel series and the Jane da Silva novel series.

An early novel of hers, Death of a Prom Queen (1984) was written under the pen name of Marie Oliver. She wrote a series of other novels, under the name K. K. Beck, such as The Revenge of Kali-Ra in 1999. One of her most recent works, The Tell-Tale Tattoo and Other Stories (2002) is a collection of short stories.

She lives in Seattle, Washington, and was married to the crime-writer Michael Dibdin, who died in 2007.

Series:
* Iris Cooper
* Jane Da Silva

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Electric City by K. K. Beck. The cover flap tells us to imagine a cross between Nora Charles and Kinsey Millhone, a female sleuth who walks and talks like a thirty-something Lauren Becall - and we'll have a pretty good portrait of K. K. Beck's Jane da Silva. Well, not quite. At least I don't picture her as a combo of those three ladies. Jane is a former European lounge singer who has inherited her Uncle's position as investigator for Seattle's Foundation for Righting Wrongs. She values her independence, yearns for a healthy bank balance, and appreciates good wine, a great clothing sale...and a terrific-looking man.

When an oddly-matched couple appears on her doorstep, she assumes the are either magazine salespeople or out and about with surveys to be answered. She's hoping they're the harbingers of another hopeless case--the only kind she can take on for the Foundation and hope to be paid for it. It looks like it's gonna be Jane's lucky day--the bookish man and nervous young woman are worried that Irene March, their co-worker at a news clipping service, has met with foul play. It seems that Irene had been acting a bit strange and stressed right before she appeared on Jeopardy!...and won to the tune of $20,000. And now she's disappeared.

Jane gets down to business and places a "Have you seen this woman?" ad in the Seattle paper. This produces some interesting results. She hears from several people who say that Irene was shaking them down for blackmail money. But who had the biggest secret? The church deacon, the former rodeo queen, or the mother soliciting funds for her sick daughter? Jane is on the hunt find out and will discover that snooping in the backwater town of Electric City may producing some shocking secrets...and possibly her own sudden death.

This was a fun, decent read. I quite like Jane and I thought her semi-professional role as an investigator worked pretty well. The mystery isn't difficult--so I would suggest that you read it for the characters and the setting and not because you want a knotty problem to unravel. I spotted the the villain as soon as s/he trotted on I did feel a bit let down at the end...poor Jane doesn't earn her fee and one wonders (given things that are said) if she ever does. I think the Foundation's overseers are a bit tough on the lady.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Jane da Silva mystery. Jane is approached by co-workers of a Seattle clipping service worker who asks her help to find the woman who has gone missing. Sifting through clues takes Jane into eastern Washington visiting various towns where the missing woman had been seen over the past year or so. It becomes a murder mystery when the woman's body is found. Story involves some interesting characters with a lot of atmosphere as it moves slowly to the conclusion.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two employees of a newspaper clipping service come to Jane da Silva when one of their co-workers goes missing; they have heard that she had tried to solve seemingly hopeless cases and they think she might be able to track their co-worker down. Before too long, Jane is heading toward eastern Washington, a far different environment from Seattle, and learning all sorts of things about horses, apples and blackmail…. This third (of four) novel in the Jane da Silva series made me a bit nuts, primarily because the co-workers mention that there are four of them doing this work, including the missing woman, but then later Jane meets the *four* co-workers, and this simple mathematical mistake should never have been made. Okay, that’s a bit picky, but it’s the kind of thing that a simple read-through would have caught, so it bugs me. As far as the story goes, there’s a lot of misdirection this time around, and a slew of sub-characters who are caught up in the mystery in various ways, perhaps a few too many really. But it’s still quite breezy and entertaining, and I do continue to like Jane, even though in this story she seems to be frequently weepy and there’s a bit too much of a “this woman needs a man to take care of her” vibe; still, only one more book to go, so mildly recommended.

[Norma Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

#3 out of 4 of a series

Jane DaSilva, a former European lounge singer, has relocated to Seattle after her uncle’s death. She has inherited her uncle’s position as investigator for Seattle's Foundation for Righting Wrongs. It is a privately funded private foundation that helps to solve so far unsolvable crimes. Jane values her independence and the finer things in life. She can only collect from the uncles’ vast legacy when she is successful in solving cases.

Electric City is where the clues lead in attempting to find Irene March, recent winner of $20,000 on “Jeopardy,” the popular game show. Jane’s placed an ad in the Seattle paper and receives clues from several people. It is revealed that all is not as it seems regarding the recent demise of Irene as stories of Irene’s life come to light of blackmail and extortion.

NOTE: The movie stars Jodie Sweetin, Stephen Huszar and Paris Jefferson.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read and well written. I'm familiar with that part of the country, so I was able to be where the characters were. It was written well, with some interesting twists and turns, and believable characters. It's not the kind of book I usually read, but so glad a friend gave it to me.

[robin gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the Jane Da Silva books, this one moved very slowly too much description of the countryside and I’d like to see her personal relationships develop into something a little more intriguing and lasting.

[marilee c. hammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

very entertaining book, light reading and kept your interest

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun & clever

[Paul Close · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, a little light.

[Tami Jurgens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that this happened in Washington State and I could recognize places!

[Katherine Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say 3 and 1/2 stars. This is a traditional and continues the series about Jane Da Silva and her search for hopeless cases to solve. I really like these novels, and this one might be my favorite of the (sadly) four. It ends in a draw (I won't say anything else for fear of spoiling) and I like that. I've just started the last one, and then I need to type up my notes for how this might help me with my billion dollar project.

I like her as a protagonist. I like how these books are clearly traditional and not cozy.

[Kenzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I began reading this and honestly, I wouldn't recommend this book. I quit reading this about halfway through just because it was getting too predictable and too romantic for my taste. I think that Jane needed to focus, she was rather odd.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Co-workers of a missing woman ask Jane to help find her.

[Kari Gulbrandsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a cozy mystery.