We end, as all good stories do, on the 30th December, early in the morning.

There's a little time left for some characterization of Dorothy, who clings to family in the face of tragedy. No real progress, and Nick couldn't take her away from all this. The book closes on how the act of murder gets drowned in business of other people's lives, like a nuke in the ocean getting swept away.

The real meat of this section is the big explanation to Nora, with asides to future events. It is interesting, and next year maybe I'll do a big timeline of events, but i want to focus here on Nick's dismissal of investigation by mathematics.

With so many events being relayed to Nick by testimony, of near and ancient events, Nick can get a lot of varying accounts and analyses of events and people. Add in perennial liars, and vested interests, like Mimi, Nunheim, Morelli, Gilbert even, and there seems to be very little facts to hang on to.

The solution to this evil demon of unreliable witnesses? Trust the cops, it feels like. Guild is never doubted, Andy, the red headed brute, is never doubted, and Nick's solve is not doubted, the institution of justice follows up on his assertions, and gathers up the rest of the evidence. Its not logically airtight, and perhaps one of the more gruesome assertions, that one of the victims was dissected, is never proven, the only blood being detected was animal blood.

In keeping with the sardonic, laconic Nick, the justice of this tale is mostly about whatever you can get. It is 'pretty unsatisfactory'.

Conclusion

I read this book very Christmas, doing my best to keep up each day. I would read it on the train home and used to have a years old train ticket as my bookmark. The tickets gone now, but the affection remains.

I've enjoyed recording some thoughts and words about it. I am prone to aimlessly going through it without any rumination. Its been so many years, that I just enjoy the rhythms of the book, the switching of locales and characters, the brief jaunt to the frozen past.

If anyone does read this, I hope I haven't spoiled anything too bad, and I hope you enjoy your detective fiction. Happy holidays.