**1/2The plot of this murder mystery is believable, without major plot holes, and you learn a (very) few things about math. But it's a P.I. story, and the first thing you need is a good - no, a great protagonist. That is, a guy who smokes like a volcano, drinks bourbon in underground bars full of mobsters and hookers, wears long coats and 30's hats, maybe falls for a femme fatale, and lives alone in a small apartment. His friends are scumbags, criminals, whores, maybe a couple of cops. Iiiiiiis that what we have here? No.Here, we have a P.I. who only drinks Light Coke (oh for pity's sake), exercises daily (he's really fit!), falls for a teacher, wears shorts ALL the time(!), has a brother who owns a gym (remeber, he's really fit), lives with his dogs, has a friend who's an astrophysicist (that's right, not a judgmental cop), and isn't even a former cop, but a former FBI agent/lawyer, smth. You, mr Pepper Keane (yes, that is his name), are a bit of a douchebag. On the other hand, if you're not as hardcore in your P.I. ideal image as me (SHAME on you), you may like it more.
This was a very good book, well written easy to read and the math was even good. When I found that this was Mark Cohen's first book, I was very much impressed. He did not write like a newbie. By the way, if you are afraid of math, don't let that scare you away from the book. The only reason math is involved is that three people who work in the same esoteric field of math were murdered in different states and a fourth mathematician of the same field is the only one who believes they are connected. If you like well-written mysteries, I urge you to read this one.
