Wyrmhole

Wyrmhole © 2003 Jay Caselberg Roc ISBN 0-451-45949-0 This SF mystery has the interesting concept of a Psychic Investigator in future Earth. Jack Stein solve problems through his dreams, and as with most fictional PIs (nice domble meaning there) he lives hand-to-mouth. Then comes the BIG JOB. The future earth presented is intriguing, although Caselberg seemed to focus on it more than he advanced the story. The grittiness of the setting is very effective, especially when it seems to have defined a twelve-year-old orphan girl who decides Jack should be her caregiver. In some places, her maturity and savvy stretches believability. The dark and sleazy environs Jack inhabits are sharply contrasted with the nearly pristine setting of one of Jack's clients (three have hired him for what seems to be the same reasons). Near the end, characters appear that don’t seem necessary and I’m not convinced of the logic presented for solving the case. Protagonist Jack seems a bit dense about some of the clues that are given in the middle of the book. The title also givea away a good part of the mystery. Jay Caselberg is an Australian writer currently based in London. The second Jack Stein book, Metal Sky came out in 2004. Caselberg writes short fiction, too.