Two very different mysteries: K. C. Constantine’s Another Day’s Pain is quite a contrast to Maria DiRico’s The Witless Protection Program, which I recently reviewed. As Constantine’s mystery is dark, serious, and grim, it might seem strange when I say that I enjoyed it. Nevertheless, I did — though not in the same way that I enjoyed DiRico’s.

If you’ve read any of Constantine’s previous Mario Balzic mysteries, you know that the fictional town of Rocksburg PA is a gritty, working-class community with true-to-life cops and lawyers. This is the last in the series, Balzic being retired and Constantine having died.

Don’t read Another Day’s Pain unless you’ve already read at least a couple of the earlier novels in the series. You’ll miss the context, the back-stories of the characters, the descriptions of small-town Rocksburg. Most importantly, you’ll miss the quality of most of the earlier books. Although, as I said, I enjoyed this book, it’s just not in the same league as most of the previous ones.

Categories: Books