Gazette Book Review: ‘The Lost Coast’ flexes local writer’s mystery prowess
Scott Lipanovich not only worked at Santa Rosa Junior College library for many years, he was also the creator and curator of the Doyle art collection which consists of 1,000 pieces of art. All the pieces are demonstrative of the talents of the faculty and staff. Born in Castro Valley, Lipanovich has lived in Santa Rosa for more than 30 years. He has written magazine articles and screen plays and worked with Emmy and Academy Award winning producers. And, he also writes mystery novels. This second career started when he was in a very serious automobile accident which forced him into an early retirement. He had always had a mystery series in the back of his mind. The book, “The Lost Coast,” was therapeutic in that the typing of it forced the realignment of his field of vision which had been damaged in the collision.
The protagonist, which he envisions in a series of at least four adventures, is Jeff Taylor. Jeff is a former basketball star which is not surprising considering that the author was involved in three varsity sports in school. Jeff had his heart set on being in the medical field and had even taken the MCATS, the aptitude tests for that profession but an injury that occurred during the summer when he was working at a plant left him with a mutilated hand. While trying to find himself and readjust his goals, he takes a job as a private investigator in Sacramento. On the verge of quitting, he is given one last assignment; to bail out a prominent state senator who seems to have killed an equally prominent coastal resident while driving drunk.
The blustery, boozy congressman seems to have been an adequate legislator, but also seems to have done little to curb his fondness for alcohol. Having accomplished what he was sent to do, Taylor becomes intrigued with the situation and feels that something does not seem right. He thinks that perhaps the senator was set up. He is soon hired by the victim’s sister, a lumber baroness, to find out what really happened. All the characters are a little quirky. The deceased seems to have been every bit as inebriated as the senator who ran over him. The victim’s wife is an air-head, hippie-chic who is the lead singer with a band located in Ukiah. The sheriff is a decent guy who is never far from some kind of refreshment. The sister who hires Jeff is lonely, lovely and lustful. She and the sheriff's clerk seem to be attracted to Taylor. I did not see the twist coming which is always a good thing in a mystery.
The intrigue uses the Pacific as a backdrop on one side and the wilds of the Redwood Empire on the other. It is as if the characters are feeding off the energy emitted by both, the rolling surf and the ancient, giant trees. I can’t wait to see what Jeff Taylor is up to next.
