The Bomb Shelter by Jon Talton

First Line: At 11:10 on the morning of Friday, June 2nd, 1978, Charles Page spun the platen knob of the Smith Corona Classic 12 typewriter on his desk at the Arizona State Capitol pressroom.

Forty years ago, a car bomb killed a newspaper reporter in Phoenix, Arizona. Three men went to prison for the crime, but were other people involved? Did a kingpin order the hit and get away with it? Despite the work of teams of professionals, no one's been able to uncover the truth.

It's a case that's perfect for historian-turned-sheriff's deputy David Mapstone, and his newly re-elected boss knows it. When Sheriff Mike Peralta promises to reopen the investigation, it triggers new murders that are reenactments of Phoenix's mob-riddled past. Mapstone needs all the help he can get, so he enlists a Ph.D. candidate and Black Lives Matter activist to join him in searching through sealed archives. Mapstone's wife, Lindsey, joins the investigation, too. The trouble will be trying to find the answers before anyone else dies.

I always learn something fascinating about Phoenix's history when I read one of Jon Talton's David Mapstone mysteries. This time Talton works his magic on the very real 1978 car bombing death of reporter Don Bolles-- something that happened shortly after I moved to Phoenix. The author can still give me thrills when I read about an historian's excitement upon uncovering primary sources, and there are so many layers to this investigation and so many well-known names that I was compelled to keep reading faster and faster.

Talton does not let up on the tension or the action in The Bomb Shelter, and there's even some mood-lightening humor from time to time. It's fun to speculate about how close he came to solving the Bolles murder. His main characters-- Mapstone, wife Lindsey, Mike Peralta, and new addition Malik Jones-- are well-drawn and feel almost as though they're members of my family. Especially Mapstone. With his constant whining about the heat here in Phoenix, I want to look at him like he's my cousin Steve and say, "You're a native Phoenician. It gets hot here. Suck it up (and shut up)!"

This is a series I've loved since the first book, Concrete Desert. Talton is a gifted storyteller, and I love reading about the characters he's created and learning a bit about the fascinating history of my adopted hometown. It will be interesting to see where he takes his readers next.

The Bomb Shelter by Jon Talton

eISBN: 9781464209604

Poisoned Pen Press © 2018

eBook, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #9 David Mapstone mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

High Country Nocturne by Jon Talton

First Line: In the end, the truth was almost beside the point.

Private investigator David Mapstone has a tough decision to make when a shipment of diamonds is stolen in Phoenix and the #1 suspect is his partner, former Maricopa County Sheriff Mike Peralta. Should he cooperate  with the FBI, or should he strike out on his own to find Peralta and learn what really happened?

Actually the decision really isn't all that tough, but Mapstone's plan of action is made more difficult by the new sheriff wanting him back as deputy to use his expertise in history to solve a special cold case. 

Matters turn from bad to worse when Mapstone is stalked by a professional killer whose specialty is "suiciding" targets.

There's no doubt about it: David Mapstone is going to have to risk it all to find the truth.

In High Country Nocturne, Jon Talton's elegiac descriptions of the old Phoenix almost gives the book a hard-boiled feel, and that sad, cynical, resigned tone is perfect for this story. It's good to see Talton get out of Phoenix for a bit and take readers to places like Flagstaff and Ash Fork up in Northern Arizona. Even sections of Route 66 get a mention or two. In a tale of betrayal, murder, and a desperate search for the truth, the occasional sparks of humor he adds are as welcome as they are unexpected. 

Mapstone has been tested before in the course of this series, but not to this degree. Mike Peralta has not only been his boss and his partner, he's also been his closest friend, and to have him be the prime suspect in a diamond heist and murder is beyond belief. At this point, all he's going to want to do is prove Peralta innocent. However, everyone seems determined to stop him. FBI agents are crawling all over the place, making demands, asking questions, keeping an eye on him. The new sheriff insists that Mapstone comes back to work for him. Matters are made even worse by the deadly killer who's stalking him. What scares Mapstone the most is that the killer may not only target him, his wife Lindsey may also be in danger. 

When he does start piecing a few things together, he begins to doubt his friendship with Peralta. Just how much can he trust his partner? This is a fast-paced story that does make occasional references to previous books in the series, but it does stand alone very well. 

There are two authors who have series set in the Phoenix metropolitan area whom I always recommend. Jon Talton is one of them. High Country Nocturne is another strong entry in an excellent series.

High Country Nocturne by Jon Talton

ISBN: 9781464204005 

Poisoned Pen Press © 2015

Paperback, 326 pages

Police Procedural, #8 David Mapstone mystery

Rating: B+

Source: NetGalley 


 

The Night Detectives by Jon Talton

First Line: The dead talk to me in my dreams. When I wake up, I can't remember what they said.

The elections are over, and there's a new sheriff in Maricopa County. Former Sheriff Mike Peralta and his friend and Deputy David Mapstone are out of jobs-- but not for long. Trouble is, their fledgling private detective business doesn't start out well. Not only does Mapstone not want to take their first case, their client is gunned down in the parking lot moments after hiring them. Peralta decides to carry on with the case, the suspicious death of a young Arizona woman who fell to her death from a San Diego highrise.

In San Diego, the two new private eyes find the woman's boyfriend who's trying to take care of their baby. He doesn't think his girlfriend committed suicide either and hires them to look into it. Before the day is out, the boyfriend is dead and Mapstone is nearly killed. They may not carry badges anymore, but Peralta and Mapstone are still up to their necks in danger.

Although-- like all well-written series novels-- you don't have to read the rest of the books in the series for this latest installment to make sense, I'm more than happy to tell you that I'm a long-time Talton and Mapstone fan. Jon Talton is one of two writers I depend on for an accurate portrayal of the Phoenix metropolitan area. If setting is important to you, Talton's Phoenix is the real deal.

He also writes a lean, mean mystery that is both action-packed and introspective. More than once while reading The Night Detectives, I thought I had it all figured out only to find that I didn't. I like that.

I like Talton's setting, I like his stories, but more than anything else, I like his character, David Mapstone. It's been a pleasure to watch this character develop through each book in the series. In The Night Detectives, Mapstone is in a very dark place emotionally. Loved ones have died tragically. He is separated from his wife and despairs of their ever getting back together. He's lost a job he loves. He's got a lot on his mind that he'd rather not dwell on, but no matter where he goes, he can't escape his thoughts. Even his home-- once his sanctuary-- has turned into a place he wants to avoid.

The only thing I don't like about David Mapstone is that it always seems to be summer in Phoenix when he's at an emotional low, and when he's depressed, he whines about the heat. But what's a little whining from such a nuanced character in such a marvelously told tale? Since Talton's first Mapstone mystery, Concrete Desert, I've been recommending this series. The only thing The Night Detectives has done is to make me more insistent in my recommendation. 

The Night Detectives by Jon Talton

ISBN: 9781464201349

Poisoned Pen Press © 2013

Paperback, 226 pages

Private Detective, #7 David Mapstone mystery

Rating: A

Source: NetGalley

South Phoenix Rules by Jon Talton

Title: South Phoenix Rules
Author: Jon Talton
ISBN: 9781590588161
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2010
Paperback, 250 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, #6 David Mapstone mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased at Bookman's.

First Line: The August heat in Phoenix has a color.

Changes are staring David Mapstone in the face. His boss was defeated in the recent election, and Mapstone knows he's on the way out, too. He has no clear idea of what he's going to do next. All he does know is that his wife is still on assignment in Washington, DC, and he's not exactly happy that her sister, Robin, is living in the apartment above his garage.

When the history professor Robin is dating is killed and connected to a deadly drug cartel, Mapstone knows that Robin's life is in danger. In order to protect his sister-in-law, he has to turn from history and cold cases to the very real and very current world of smuggling (people, drugs, guns) in Phoenix.

Once again Talton has crafted a gripping mystery with a main character I've grown to care about-- and taught me more Phoenix history along the way. Mapstone is a Phoenix native, raised by his grandparents in an older home in an older neighborhood. He's seen the way Phoenix has changed, and he doesn't like it. (When I think of the changes this city has undergone since I moved here in 1976, I understand at least part of Mapstone's pain.) Talton uses this knowledge of the past as well as the here-and-now to excellent effect-- even down to the new sheriff of Maricopa County having won the election with a STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS! campaign.

The tension keeps simmering with gang members watching the house, shootouts in parking lots, illegal gun sales, and Mapstone's very uneasy relationship with his wife. Perhaps it was because I knew which Pete's Fish and Chips Mapstone was meeting a bad guy at, or because a suspect lived a few blocks from me, but I almost felt as though I needed eyes in the back of my head as I read this book. I love reading a book that keeps me that involved in the action.

If you live in Phoenix and love crime fiction, you should definitely read this series. Even if you live elsewhere, you should enjoy these well-written books featuring the "History Shamus". How well does this book stand on its own? It stands on its own rather well. There are comments made about events in previous books, but they shouldn't be confusing.... Hopefully they'll make you want to read the rest. The characters in this series grow and change, and I've enjoyed experiencing the changes along with them. Perhaps you will, too.

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Cactus Heart by Jon Talton

Title: Cactus Heart
Author: Jon Talton
ISBN: 9781590585849, Poisoned Pen Press, 2008
Genre: Police Procedural, #5 David Mapstone mystery
Rating: B-

First Line: Throughout history, the desert has been a place of trial, penance, and hard-won revelation.

In the fifth mystery involving Maricopa County sheriff's deputy David Mapstone, we're taken back to Phoenix, Arizona in 1999. Christmas is only a few weeks away, and the subject on most people's lips is Y2K.

Recently hired by the Sheriff's Office, things don't start out well for Mapstone. He chases a robber into an abandoned warehouse and stumbles across the bodies of two young children-- the remains of a sixty-year-old crime.

Just before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Arizona and the nation were shocked by the kidnapping of a cattle baron's grandsons. The bodies of the children had never been found, and although the kidnapper was caught and executed, Mapstone begins digging up evidence that shows justice was far from being served. When the evidence starts coming to light, people begin to die once more.

This is a favorite series of mine that almost wasn't. When I read the first book, I was so irritated with Mapstone's whining about the heat that I almost didn't pick up the next book. Fortunately for me, I gave him another chance and haven't looked back since.

Talton is a former Phoenix resident who remembers what the place was like Before and isn't a fan of After. Having his main character be an historian lets Talton share his love of a younger Phoenix and the things that made it unique. He can even wax poetic about the weather from time to time:

When the winter rains come, the sidewalk restaurants move inside. The Fiesta Bowl promoters worry. The resorts cover up the pool furniture, and the snowbirds grumble. But we Phoenicians quietly exult-- that after all the punishing months of sun and heat, the sky brings back the healing water. That, after all, the desert is God's chosen, sacred place.

Although I enjoyed another visit with Mapstone and his complicated personal life as well as another glimpse into Phoenix's past, I did have some problems with the plot. It was too easy to piece together the facts to identify the real culprit, and the entire subplot concerning a hot babe from the city archaeologist's office just had too many coincidences. I couldn't swallow it without the aid of a glass of water.

Cactus Heart was still an involving read that I would've devoured in a single sitting if left to my own devices. Talton has created living, breathing characters who inhabit a place that I love. I may have a quibble here and there about a subplot or a character whining about the heat, but as long as Talton writes, I'll continue to read.