Folly

Mickey Friedman's "Folly" is the follow-up to his first I Ching Mystery, "Danger Times Two." Former New York City Detective Frank Falco is now the small town Assistant Police Chief of Ripton, Massachusetts in the heart of the Berkshire Hills. Falco is faced with a series of break-ins in the empty homes of some wealthy weekenders. These simple trespasses become complicated but with the help of his sister Katie and the ancient Chinese oracle, the "I Ching," Frank navigates the confused boundaries between order and disorder, and confronts the complicated issues of crime and punishment. As with "Danger Times Two," every time it was appropriate, Mickey Friedman as one of his characters would actually consult the I Ching: Katie or Tyler or Frank asking the question. And all of them bound to accept the answer. So "Folly," then, is a collaboration: part Mickey Friedman, part I Ching.