I've read one other mystery written by this author and featuring this female private investigator. This one features the P.I. going undercover on a big freeway tunnel project in Boston. First, regarding the setting. I don't get the same feel for Boston as I do in Dennis Lehane's novels. Perhaps Lehane lives in a grimmer and grittier Boston than Barnes-- but I just don't feel Boston as she writes-- on the other hand, never having visited Boston, her depiction of Beantown may be a bit closer than Lehane's dark novels of underworld culture.Second, the main character doesn't seem to have any pizzazz. Okay, she was once a cop. She once dated the son of a local organized crime czar-- but there is nothing really intriguing about her except she is a bit of a tomboy-- able to fit in as a chick working in the construction industry and equally at home working undercover as a secretary. In fact, in many ways, she is almost a Kinsey Milhone clone. (not that it is bad)Finally, the plot.. The author takes two mysteries and contrives to twine them together in a conincidence that makes me feel like I'm watching a re-run of the old Rookies television show. You know what I mean.. The nurse chick wife of one of the officers befriends the girlfriend of this week's bad guy. Or the other officer has a cousin come to town who is involved in criminal acticity. Or the off duty cop just happens to get shot-- again! Despite that, Barnes does a credible job building a fair mystery that has some clever ideas and plot twists that make the book worth readhing. A little bit above average, in my opinion, but not by much.
Carlotta Carlyle, ex Boston Cop and now a self employed PI and some time Cab driver gets a job working undercover with various companies working on the Big Dig in Boston. There have been rumors of kickbacks, overcharges etc and she is poking around to see if its true. She is also approached by a woman who hires her to look for her missing border, a young woman who just took off and left her things and dog behind. After doing several jobs she ends up working in the field office of one of the contractors and things start to happen, one of the workers is found dead at the bottom of a scaffolding and things begin to heat up on both jobs as trails lead together and to something all together different.ISBN - 0312-28270-2, Mystery, Pages - 275, Print Size - R, Rating - 4
What do You think about The Big Dig (2003)?
Another solid entry in this series featuring Boston PI Carlotta Carlyle as she sub-contracts to a big investigation firm to look into problems on a construction site on 'The Big Dig.' She's also hired by a wealthy society woman to find her renter who has disappeared with her Jeep. The reader for this one was different from past books and at times I found her inflections a bit annoying...also, all the characters EXCEPT Carlotta, who is indeed Boston-born and bred, had the Boston accent, and they all sounded kind of the same. Strange.
—Spuddie
This was a fairly fast-paced, easy read. The author does a great job keeping Carlotta's character real - that is, an imperfect human being doing the best she can at the moment. I admire the way Barnes can take something familiar and look at it from a different perspective. I know I'll never think about missing persons the same way again. I read this book immediately after finishing Flashpoint, the only other Barnes novel I've read. While I truly like Linda Barnes' writing style, I did not like the Paolina character in that book. A surly, hostile teen with attitude ... um, no. The author did such a great job of making Paolina seem real that I wanted nothing more than to get far, far away from her. Alpha Centauri sounded appealing. The Paolina conflict was a big part of Flashpoint, so much so that I almost did not read The Big Dig. That would have been my loss, because I did enjoy this book.
—Dobby0390
Boston's answer to Kinsey Milhone, Carlotta Carlyle, returns in a slippery adventure that sees her going undercover on the world's largest construction project. However, she gets a second job from an elegantly dressed woman who asks her to find her roommate named Veronica James (Veejay). Her fraud investigation on the Dig stalls, but then a construction worker with ties to the company's owners turns up dead, and a break-in at Veronica's home up the stakes considerably. This is the second Carlotta Carlyle mystery I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading more. Barnes makes the city come alive, much like Dennis Lehane does, and her characterizations and sharp and witty. A suspenseful, can't-put-it-down read.
—Barbara
