knottyrambler's review against another edition
4.0
It took a while to get used to the reader's voice. I enjoyed listing to this book and hope the parts that bothered me will be worked out as the series continues.
anjreading's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, rounded up. Solid noir mystery set in the 1970s featuring Delpha Wade, fresh out of prison for killing one of her two rapists, and newly-minted private investigator Tom Phelan, who ends up hiring the whip-smart, organized Delpha as his secretary. Very good writing and an interesting plot; I look forward to the next book in the series.
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
4.0
Although the mystery isn't really the central part of this story, I loved this book. I am going to read the second installment right away. I really like Delpha, and maybe we will get to know more about Tom Phelan in the next book. This looks to be the start of a good series with strong female characters. I appreciated the Beaumont, TX setting and all the 1973 references, too.
belovedsnail's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Lisa Sandlin is writing some of the best mysteries around at the moment. I maybe liked Bird Boys a bit more, but this is also great. She's a very strong writer. The characters and their development are really well drawn, and the plot well constructed. I like the updated take on 70s mystery noir and I find them very satisfying to read.
emilycc's review against another edition
5.0
These are just so good. The plot feels episodic until everything comes together in the end, but it’s definitely secondary to the wonderful writing, which is subtle, evocative, funny, etc etc etc.
lulukubo's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the writing style and use of imagery very much. The story was a little confusing at times with some pretty unlikely coincidences.
brazilianmelody's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
samhouston's review
Some books are almost like time machines. They so vividly portray a time and a place from the reader’s past that reading them is almost like being there again. For me, Lisa Sandlin’s The Do-Right is one of those books. Set in 1973, in Beaumont, Texas, The Do-Right is the story of a young woman who returns to Beaumont after serving fourteen years in Gatesville prison for killing one of the two men who raped her. Now, if she wants to avoid going back to prison, her parole officer tells her that she needs to get a job – and quickly.
Luckily for Delpha Wade, Beaumont is not nearly as large a town as it appears to be at first glance and Joe Ford, her parole officer, has a favor or two he is willing to call in on her behalf. One of those owing Ford a favor is Tom Phelan a young man with a brand new detective agency and no one to handle all the phone calls he hopes will soon start rolling in. After he very reluctantly agrees to interview her, and the take-charge Delpha gets an unscheduled chance to demonstrate her office skills, Tom knows that she is exactly what he needs manning his front office. As he remarks to Delpha, “Miss Wade, you were hired when you called me Bubba.”
And the phone does start ringing. For starters, a mother is looking for her missing high school student son, a woman wants pictures of her husband with his mistress, and someone’s sister has stolen his prosthetic leg and refuses to give it back. It all seems fairly routine and promising for the new agency until some of the cases begin to overlap, and Tom learns the hard way just how important Delpha Wade is to his agency – and to him personally.
Lisa Sandlin presents 1973 Beaumont so much in the classic noir tradition that, despite numerous references to events of the day such as Nixon’s Watergate scandal and Hank Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, it is just as easy to envision a city of the late 1940s as it is one of the 1970s. I, in fact, first read a segment of The Do-Right published in 2014 as “Phelan’s First Case,” one of the short stories featured in Lone Star Noir, a fine collection of noir short stories set in Texas.
The best thing about The Do-Right, however, and what makes it so much more effective than its short story cousin, is how deeply, in comparison to the short story Sandlin develops the Delpha Wade character in the novel. Delpha is a complex character, a woman who was determined to fight to the death the father and son who raped her despite the price she had to pay for doing so. Now, after serving her prison sentence, she is determined to make something of the rest of her life - and she plans to help put away as many bad guys along the way as she can.
Delpha Wade and Tom Phelan make a great team, and here's hoping that Lisa Sandlin has more in store for them in the future.
Luckily for Delpha Wade, Beaumont is not nearly as large a town as it appears to be at first glance and Joe Ford, her parole officer, has a favor or two he is willing to call in on her behalf. One of those owing Ford a favor is Tom Phelan a young man with a brand new detective agency and no one to handle all the phone calls he hopes will soon start rolling in. After he very reluctantly agrees to interview her, and the take-charge Delpha gets an unscheduled chance to demonstrate her office skills, Tom knows that she is exactly what he needs manning his front office. As he remarks to Delpha, “Miss Wade, you were hired when you called me Bubba.”
And the phone does start ringing. For starters, a mother is looking for her missing high school student son, a woman wants pictures of her husband with his mistress, and someone’s sister has stolen his prosthetic leg and refuses to give it back. It all seems fairly routine and promising for the new agency until some of the cases begin to overlap, and Tom learns the hard way just how important Delpha Wade is to his agency – and to him personally.
Lisa Sandlin presents 1973 Beaumont so much in the classic noir tradition that, despite numerous references to events of the day such as Nixon’s Watergate scandal and Hank Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, it is just as easy to envision a city of the late 1940s as it is one of the 1970s. I, in fact, first read a segment of The Do-Right published in 2014 as “Phelan’s First Case,” one of the short stories featured in Lone Star Noir, a fine collection of noir short stories set in Texas.
The best thing about The Do-Right, however, and what makes it so much more effective than its short story cousin, is how deeply, in comparison to the short story Sandlin develops the Delpha Wade character in the novel. Delpha is a complex character, a woman who was determined to fight to the death the father and son who raped her despite the price she had to pay for doing so. Now, after serving her prison sentence, she is determined to make something of the rest of her life - and she plans to help put away as many bad guys along the way as she can.
Delpha Wade and Tom Phelan make a great team, and here's hoping that Lisa Sandlin has more in store for them in the future.
hazelbright's review
1.0
When the protagonist is the only "cool" character and everyone else has a fat neck, protruding eyes, or is otherwise snarkily depicted based on physical characteristics, I don't stick around. Literally way too superficial for me. This is all made worse by the lack of any semblance of a plot for the first chapter or so. Bad.
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