Playing for Keeps

by Jane Waterhouse

When he suspects that murder has become part of the game plan of yuppies seeking to control the property of the newly lucrative Hoboken waterfront, Hunter Murtaugh, a detective of the old school, devises a cunning trap

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1987

About the author

Jane Waterhouse is a scriptwriter, award-winning playwright and the author of four novels, including the critically acclaimed Garner Quinn thrillers.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Waterhouse did a disappearing act worthy of her mystery novels. She wrote this one, her debut, and then a Garner Quinn trilogy and then apparently retired from the genre. And I’m usually all for the concept of going out on top and all that, but it’s kind of a shame. Because she was so good. Brash publishers have so kindly put out all her novels in digital format, so I’ve now read them all, this one last. Turns out Waterhouse was good right out of the gate. No idea why she didn’t choose to serialize Murtaugh, but there it is, a standalone thriller of a detective sergeant in the author’s beloved New Jersey, trying to solve a series of murders concentrated all in one small area. Not so much a police procedural as a character driven investigation drama. With a moral to boot. The entire thing is set back in the day (1987 according to GR’s and that seems about right) when gentrification of certain Jersey areas that were conveniently close to NYC was just beginning. The street where the murders take place is very much representative of that, the yuppies are moving in, trying to put a squeeze on the old timers and minorities that have been living there before. There are tons of characters (you practically need personae dramatis), but it is very important to know all of them, because this is essentially a locked neighborhood mystery. You know the players, you just have to figure out which ones have murder on the mind. Murtaugh really has his work cut out for him and the timing is crappy, he’s recently widowed, devastated and dousing his sorrows with alcohol. Much like a classic noir protagonist, he’s a sad rumpled soul, but he means well, he genuinely cares and he won’t walk away, no matter what the powers that be might say or do. You can trust Murtaugh to get to the bottom of it, even if you can’t trust any of the neighbors. The moral, is, really, yuppies are evil. Gentrification is evil. It’s a somewhat heavyhanded moral, the plot is hyperbolized. But it’s kind of effective in its way, the evil is plausible. The wealthy can and do get away with murder all too often. Their motto…those who die with the most toys win…is perfectly emblematic of that type of mentality, prevalent not just in the 80s when the book came out, but also now, it’s all about the exigencies of living in the profoundly materialistic culture. But you don’t have to read it as a morality tale, you can just read it as a murder mystery and ignore the social commentary. I don’t know why you’d want to, but it’s possible. Waterhouse is a very good writer, one who apparently wrote both female and male characters with equal talent and craft and for me, it’s her dramatic writing and character writing that takes the cake every time, even over the plot. Wish she’d written more. I liked this one a lot. Recommended. Thanks Brash, stay brash.