Without denying the importance of the ideas and the psychological processes which operate in a novel, Kotzwinkle has commented that "a novel must suppress that process in favor of action and feeling." His film experience has sharpened his skills with the construction of a traditional plot that advances briskly toward a conclusion, resolving the conflicts responsible for the tension driving the narrative. His lively dialogue, control of tone to capture a character's mood and poetic powers of description all contribute to a very readable book. What gives The Game of Thirty its singular flavor, however, is Kotzwinkle's employment of the conventions of the mystery/detec-tive genre, his use of the lore of ancient Egyptian civilization and his feeling for the ethos of New York city in the past and present to structure and inform the book.

One of the reasons for the appeal of the novel of detection...