Book Review: Outside the Lines by Sheila Lowe

Outside the Lines is the latest installment in the Claudia Rose forensic handwriting series by the talented Sheila Lowe. I had the good fortune to meet Sheila early on in my blogging (years and years ago now, eek!) and have reviewed her books before, so was quite pleased to see an email from her a month or so ago asking if I was reviewing again and if I’d be interested in another Claudia book. I was – the series is very enjoyable, with great realistic characters and interesting mysteries. Plus, there’s a healthy dose of intriguing information about the fascinating (to me in my lawyer capacity) world of forensic handwriting analysis. I was never a trial attorney – didn’t have the stomach or temperament for it – but have always found the procedural courtroom stuff oddly interesting nevertheless. The series is written as stories, but there’s always a healthy dose of the process behind graphology because Ms. Lowe is, herself, rather a bit of an expert, having literally written the book… My review copy was graciously provided by the author.

Outside the Lines is the sixth book in the series. Once again, Claudia finds herself tap-dancing among landmines… She has an uncanny (yet oddly believable) knack for being in the right (or else very very wrong) place at the right (ditto) time relative to critical elements in her long-time partner, detective Joel Jovanic’s, criminal cases. And for finding her way into perilous circumstances that require all of her not inconsiderable intellectual resources to maneuver over, around, and through. She manages to deftly maneuver between her relationships with Jovanic and the law time and again – this is one of the things I most enjoy about the character and the series. There always seems to be at least one situation in which she finds herself caught in what appears to be a rather inexplicable struggle between the demands of her personal and professional lives. Yet somehow she always manages to tread carefully enough to navigate through without overly pushing the boundaries of either relationship. She never emerges completely unscathed; this isn’t a fairy tale, and Claudia has the scars to prove it. Nevertheless she manages to travel over and through in a way that feels both possible and plausible and never contrived. No small effort, that.

If you enjoy Sheila’s writing, scan back through my archive – there are a few great guest posts from her on the process of writing that shouldn’t be missed. She’s a talented writer of fiction and non-fiction, and I’m glad we were able to reconnect so I could remind you of that!