Every now and again, I read something really good--except--In this case, I'm going to discuss C.S. Poe's The Mystery of the Moving Image. There are *spoilers!*
The Mystery of the Moving Image is C.S. Poe's third novel in the Snow & Winter series. Sebastian Snow is an antique dealer who specializes in odd, unique items (the first book ties into Edgar Allan Poe; the second ties into P.T. Barnum). His boyfriend is a NYPD cop, Calvin Winter.
Sebastian is also extremely colorblind--that's not the correct medical terminology, but his colorblindness goes beyond a certain loss of colors on the color spectrum. This is not a gimmick, which is impressive. It is part of the character's persona and ties into his personality and some of his insecurities.
In fact, characterization is one of C.S. Poe's strengths. Grumpy, sarcastic Snow and calm, older, somewhat haunted Winter make a good combination. The cases are fascinating. The research aspect of the cases is handled in a seamless fashion. The editing and covers are professional. I owned the first two in paperback (the third on Kindle) and they were worth the cost (as gifts/items to place on a shelf).
And . . . the plot holes make me start editing in my head--
Actually, they remind me that I could probably edit them out. I'm usually so busy reading that instead of editing, I do the equivalent of "white noising" the plot holes.
The case surrounds the delivery to Snow's Emporium of a kinetoscope, which connects into the career of W.K.L. Dickson. Sebastian doesn't know who delivered it and the delivery company won't tell him. His shop suffers two break-ins, which are obviously connected to the kinetoscope.
For reasons that I hummed through, the police do not obtain a warrant and compel the delivery company to release the name of the piece's owner because, you know, there might be some connection between why it was delivered and why people are trying to steal it or parts of it.
That is not the plot hole.The plot hole occurs after the second break-in when Sebastian receives a call from the owner. He gets the man's name and address. He then goes out to speak to the detectives and doesn't tell them about the call.
Now, Sebastian is established in the first book as highly independent, reckless, and occasionally forgetful. But this behavior crosses a line. His boyfriend, Calvin Winter, is a cop, a cop on the case. If I were Calvin Winter's boss, I would (1) refuse to let him work on cases involving his boyfriend since he obviously has no ability to compel relevant information from his boyfriend; (2) transfer Winter to Staten Island (that's a joke for police procedural buffs); (3) advise Winter to break up with a guy who has so little respect for his job, he will not share basic information that would help Winter do his job (break the case); (4) treat Sebastian in every and all instances as a hostile witness, which includes hauling him down to the police station whenever possible.
The fact is, Sebastian's behavior crosses the line from reckless independence to narcissistic ego-bolstering. Since the reader is supposed to like Sebastian (and I do), I pretended the sequence of events happened an entirely different way.
It is difficult for me to reread C.S. Poe's books because of the plot holes--but I always read the next one!
The next one is The Mystery of the Bones. Paleontology! Fun!!
