As I mentioned last week, I’m reading The Man Who Did Too Much, a comic murder mystery by Camille LaGuire… a fact that I forgot to note on my GoodReads profile. (Sorry about that.)

I don’t know much about the “comedy” part, as this story has not yet made me laugh out loud. [UPDATE: Okay, it has now made me laugh out loud. Definitely funny, and in an intelligent, situational sort of way.] But it has felt light and airy, low on the physical danger and suspense, not inducing too much anger or fear. Of course, I also haven’t yet witnessed the murder, although there is clearly danger afoot.

But the aspect of this story that strikes me—and as I expected based on Camille’s other work that I’ve read: I’ve just started reading the novel, and already I luuuv the characterization. I don’t know whether Camille uses character-creation techniques similar to mine; regardless, she hits the characters’ emotional needs and reactions right on the money, weaving compelling story conflict and (therefore) a compelling plot.

So I am in into this story, and I wish I had more time to read it faster.

Today’s teaser, from location 211-215 of The Man Who Did Too Much:

George Starling quit his job as a secret agent to take care of a traumatized woman he rescued. He has brought her home to her small Michigan town, where she can’t seem to get better, and he can’t seem to shake loose of his need to take care of her. When an old friend asks him to investigate a local lead in an international kidnapping, George reluctantly agrees to interview a witness.

That witness is Karla Marquette, a flaky local movie buff who seems to have lost touch with reality. But George knows the instant he meets her that Karla has a genius for happiness. If he can only help Karla clear her friends of suspicion in this kidnapping and murder, perhaps she can help he and his girlfriend find the happiness that eludes them. But soon George finds himself, and even his girlfriend, entangled in a deceptive plot, and it may be up to Karla (bum bum buuuuummmm…) to rescue them all!

Today, I’m picking up an ebook from my reading backlist, The Man Who Did Too Much, a “Starling and Marquette” comic murder mystery by Camille LaGuire a.k.a. “The Daring Novelist.”

I don’t remember how I discovered Camille’s blog, from which I discovered some of her short stories, which prompted me to pick up this e-novel. I do remember enjoying her work, especially the characters—and as you know, characters are a really huge deal with me.

Today’s teaser, from location 6258 (or thereabouts, randomly chosen by Random.org) of The Man Who Did Too Much: