Woodward & Bernstein & Carter Ross-- Oh, My

"The Girl Next Door" by Brad Parks
Reviewed by David Marshall James

If Carter Ross-- in lieu of either Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein-- had been privy to the Watergate informant, he probably would have snarked out, " 'Deep Throat'? That's a good one. Why don't you call yourself 'Debbie Does Dallas' instead?"

There was a time, not so very long ago, when many an aspiring young writer aimed to become an investigative journalist, on the golden-winged heels of Messrs. Woodward and Bernstein.

Now that the newspaper biz-- as author Brad Parks, a onetime reporter, notes-- is co-rafting with the Ti-D-Bol man (You Tube it, if you're under 35) because of corporate mismanagement, investigative reporters are headed off to the two-dollar matinee to share a one-dollar tub of butter pop with the drugstore soda-fountain lady.

Some surprise, then, that investigative reporter Carter Ross of The Newark (New Jersey) Eagle-Examiner is verging on the precipice of career extinction.

Then again, Ross is prone to conflicts, butting heads big-time with his publisher, and carrying on the weirdest relationship this side of "Real Common-Law Housewives of Appalachia" with his editor.

Oh, that ed's a she, but there's a guy on staff who's ready to go all ask-and-tell on Ross, if only he'll switch out his pleated khakis for something more contour-fitting.

Aside from all his job-related issues, Ross has a snarky streak that makes Don Rickles look like Mister Rogers. Memo to CR: You do not call your boss a feminine-hygiene product at an Italian wake.

Ross is angry, frustrated: No one at The Eagle-Examiner is on the same page with him in his latest quest for truth, justice, and the American Way. This third Carter Ross mystery by author Brad Parks pretty much centers on a well-planned murder-- the hit-and-run killing of a hardworking, multijobbed woman who's a member of the newspaper's delivery-workers' union.

Especially noteworthy in this novel is the introduction of a lunky, linebacker-physiqued new intern at The Eagle-Examiner, a Princeton grad with his head in the literary clouds, his hands-down favorite being Philip Roth.

Plus, we're lovin' all the camp, from the breakaway bear to the pet-door scene. But, that's fine and dandy, as we're wearing the summer khaki shorts that our moms packed for us. No pleats, however.