Earl Emerson

Going Crazy in Public

First published by William Morrow and Company, Inc 1996 June 1, ISBN 0-688-13750-4. Avon Books paperback published 1997 July 1, ISBN 0-380-72437-5.

I thought I'd come across most possible types of fictional detectives, but Earl Emerson's Mac Fontana is a new one for me. A fire chief not only has to organise firefighting, but is also responsible for investigating suspected arson. This is the fourth "Mac Fontana Mystery" - in earlier books he works as senior fire investigator. Unlike many police detective stories where the cops work purely on a single case without any distractions (usually solving it in a matter of days), Emerson's hero spends a great deal of his time getting on with a wide range of duties, and the investigation takes quite a while. This not only allows Emerson time to paint a convincing picture of as a small town fireservice in Washington state, it makes it a lot easier to introduce a colourful cast of characters. Inevitably, some of them exist primarily to fill in details in the investigation, or to provide suitable red herrings and additional suspects. Nonetheless, I found the formula interesting.

Unfortunately, the naturism angle of the book as seen in the extracts is dull and formulaic. There's a nudist colony (yup, that's what he calls it) not far outside the town, and whenever their fire alarm goes off, all the fire engines in the area, and many volunteers, turn up on the off-chance that they will be needed. Fontana himself is above such juvenile attitudes, but many of Emerson's other characters are not. I kept expecting someone to turn out to be a nudist, and at least one person behaves as if they are going to make just such a revelation, but either Emerson decided this was one subplot twist too many, or he couldn't be bothered. As a result, all the references to naturism are impersonal or second-hand, and - to this UK reader - appear to reflect an attitude to social nudity which was left behind in Europe several decades ago. There's also the conundrum of how "Sun Country" dare call itself that, given the considerable amount of rainfall in the area - at one point Emerson gleefully describes just how wet the county is.

It's perhaps worth pointing out that Emerson is a full-time Lieutenant in the Seattle Fire Department. This obviously helps him get the detail of firefighter work spot-on, along with convincing characterisation. It is probably this real-life element of the books which has helped him build up a significant and loyal readership.

While I would like to recommend the book because I found the novelty of a fire investigator detective refreshing, and the detail of small-town relationships well-written, the treatment of naturism is immature and too incidental. Emerson could have done a lot better, and this disappointing aspect of the book means I can only give it two out of three.

An edited version of this review appeared in the October 2005 issue of H&E Naturist magazine.

Ratings:

Nudity	Naturist nudity	A good read?

Last updated 2005 December 3.
 
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