Death Will Get You Sober
Elizabeth Zelvin
Reviewed by Sara Porter
Death Will Get You Sober has an intriguing premise: a recovering
alcoholic becomes amateur detective as he stumbles upon a murder.
However, the execution could use work.
Bruce wakes up in a detox center in New York. After forgetting
where he had been and alienating his friends one too many times, he
decides to attend the AA meeting there. At the AA meeting, he
encounters
an eccentric group, one of whom God, no that's his name, gets
murdered. So it's up to Bruce and his friends, the history expert and
recovering alcoholic, Jimmy and the co-dependent counselor, Barbara to
wade through suspicious nuns, bitter family members, and a bookie or
two to find out the truth to God's death.
The book is really original and goes through some very decent
moments of the steps alcoholics go through before they can recover.
Many of the details such as reciting the Serenity Prayer before a
meeting ("Give me the power to change what I can...") and the
determination for a person going through the 12 step program not to
turn the corner and not to go into that liquor store are well written
and portrayed. Zelvin, a psychotherapist and director of alcohol
treatment programs, certainly knows her stuff on writing about a
character with an addiction.
However, her mystery skills aren't as sharp as they could be. She
writes a compelling lead in Bruce who is sardonic and cynical in both
his recovery and his murder investigation. He goes through the AA
meeting with a dry wit and a "been-there/done that" attitude. On
looking at God, his friend's body, Bruce's thought is: "I hope his
Namesake had a sense of humor." Bruce's talents for observing
addictions and how people act around them make him a good amateur
detective, possibly one who could have a series of his own.
Though this book is not without its flaws. Bruce's two assistants,
could use some work. Jimmy, is amusing with his quirks and trivia
knowledge ("Give him a date and he will know what happened in that date
in history for the past 250 years", Bruce says) but more often than not
his quirks become more goofy than endearing and he really develops very
little to the mystery apart from making sardonic comments and providing
a support system for Bruce.
Barbara on the other hand is very involved in Bruce's
investigation, a little too involved. She becomes a very cloying
character, while helpful she can sometimes be irritating. She
interviews
suspects without any foresight to their real danger. She helps Bruce,
but sometimes reacts with an "I'm always right," mentality. While
helpful, Barbara can occasionally be irritating and stereotypical as
the therapist who is too involved with their clients.
While the mystery is gripping, many of the suspects are
interchangeable and the murderer left this reader sprinting for the
earlier chapters trying to remember who he or she even was.
While Death Will Get You Sober does show promise, Zelvin needs to work
at the next one to make readers come back for another round.