Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 17, 1993 TAG: 9304190227
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by DAVID M. POOLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
PEARSON FALLS SHORT WITH `CRY ME A RIVER'
It's hard to fathom what possessed T.R. Pearson to try his hand at a murder mystery.Pearson, a North Carolina native now living in Carroll County, crafted his first five novels around the skimpiest of plots. To Pearson, action is less important than giving voice to eccentric and endearing characters who people his imaginary Southern towns.
Pearson provides a rich assortment of zany characters in "Cry Me a River," a spoof of true-crime stories now in vogue on syndicated television and in pulp paperbacks.
There is the police chief who takes uncooperative suspects out to a railroad trestle for a unique brand of interrogation. There is the town drunk who once collared a fleeing suspect by throwing up on the poor criminal.
The novel begins with the murder of a policeman in an unnamed Southwest Virginia town that sounds a lot like Galax. The narrator is a patrolman who takes it upon himself to nab the killer. His only clue is a Polaroid of a nude woman - "with miraculous contours and legs clean up to her eyesockets" - found in the dead cop's wallet.
The narrator is no Top Cop. He's a generally lazy slob whose partner is a drunk civilian named Ellis.
There are plenty of darkly funny moments, but the novel falls short of Pearson's earlier work.
One problem is the narrator's insights often seem too wry and sophisticated for a lowly town cop. The novel's violent climax lacks emotional punch because the reader can't connect with the narrator, who remains nameless and faceless to the end.
"Cry Me a River" will some interest for local readers who will recognize the people and places of Southwest Virginia. In one memorable scene, the narrator confronts the suburban complaceny of Cave Spring in Roanoke County.
\ Author
David M. Poole is a staff writer for this newspaper