The Reluctant Sheriff by Chris Offutt

 

First Line: The employment application had a section about alcohol consumption and Harley Bolin lied that he never drank.

Ex-Army CID officer Mick Hardin is supposed to be retired, and he certainly never wanted to be sheriff. However, when his sister, Linda, is shot in the line of duty, Mick has to step in as interim sheriff while she recovers. Now he's stuck in the east Kentucky town of Rocksalt-- a place from which he's always wanted to escape.

Weary of the petty squabbles of Rocksalt's townspeople, it's eye-rolling business as usual until the investigation into the murder of a local bar owner focuses on an unlikely suspect who threatens to stir up Mick's past. Two more bodies turn up, and although they appear to be unconnected to the first, Mick finds himself dealing with another case that's not so open-and-shut as everyone thinks.

~

Anyone who hasn't feasted upon one of Chris Offutt's Mick Hardin novels needs to rectify the situation. These lean mean books immerse readers in the world of eastern Kentucky and the ways of the people who live there. In The Reluctant Sheriff, we also watch Johnny Boy Tolliver (last seen in the previous book, Code of the Hills) adapt to life on the French island of Corsica.

The stories ring true, and they can be explosive. Moreover, Mick Hardin is a character who's always looked after everyone else while ignoring his own needs. This series of books shows Mick becoming more self-aware. Excellent, fast-paced stories, a nuanced main character, and in-depth knowledge of a culture most of us know nothing about... all these things make Offutt's series a must-read, but there is one key element that I haven't mentioned yet. What's that? The descriptions of the landscape and nature. Mick Hardin is firmly rooted in the Kentucky hills. He knows all the trees, the plants, the animals. He can gauge what's going on in the woods by which birds are singing. This inclusion of the natural world draws me right into the story. 

And another draw? Offutt's power of description. "...he was lonely as the last leaf on a tree in winter." "That woman is tough as woodpecker lips." I love those!

By reading these books, I've joined Mick Hardin in his journey to turn his back on the past and embrace the future. It's a privilege to be able to be a part of it.

The Reluctant Sheriff by Chris Offutt

eISBN: 9780802164049

Grove Press © 2025

eBook, 288 pages

Noir, #4 Mick Hardin

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Code of the Hills by Chris Offutt

 

First Line: Janice drove slowly to avoid jostling the plastic containers of food on the floor behind her seat.

 

Mick Hardin has retired from the military. He plans to visit his sister in Kentucky and then head for a new life in Corsica. But plans have a habit of changing when you least expect it.

 

Mick's sister, Linda, is the recently reelected sheriff in Rocksalt, Kentucky. She and her deputy Johnny Boy Tolliver are investigating the murder of Pete Lowe, a talented mechanic at the local racetrack. Linda is shorthanded, so Mick reluctantly agrees to intervene in a family dispute. His intervention leads to his uncovering illegal cockfighting and another body that is somehow linked to Pete Lowe. 

 

Then Linda steps into harm's way, and Mick finds himself investigating the crimes himself.

 

~

 

I have been appreciating Chris Offutt's skill in characterization, in describing the landscape, and in acquainting his readers with the people and culture of the hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky. There is such a thing as the code of the hills, and it's brought to life here, even in the smallest of details such as the proper chair to sit in when visiting the home of a deceased man. Mick knows all these things, and readers can trust him to lead them through each situation.

 

I love Offutt's descriptive and often poetic language that can bring rural life into sharp focus: "...it scratched around in the back of his mind like a rat in a corn crib" or "...the junk store had been run by a man who was legendary for locking customers inside until they bought something." Having grown up in a small farm town, I'm familiar with playing in corn cribs (after being told not to), and of the "colorful" characters that can be found in rural communities. (Just ask me about Maxine.) I've also grown accustomed to taking note of the birds that make appearances in each of his books: indigo buntings, sparrows, crows, blue jays, owls, mourning doves, meadowlarks... Offutt has a way of bringing me right into the landscape so that I'm walking the hills right along with Mick.

Code of the Hills has a strong mystery and an even stronger setting and cast of characters. If you're the type of armchair sleuth who enjoys learning about out-of-the-way places and other cultures, make the acquaintance of Mick Hardin.

Code of the Hills by Chris Offutt

eISBN: 9780802161925

Grove Press © 2023

eBook, 220 pages

 

Noir, #3 Mick Hardin

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Shifty's Boys by Chris Offutt

 

First Line: At age eight, Albin decided to be a race-car driver when he grew up.

 

When the body of local heroin dealer Barney Kissick is found, the police mark his death as an occupational hazard and refuse to investigate. Barney's mother, Shifty, goes to someone she thinks she can trust in order to learn the truth about the death of her boy: Mick Hardin. Mick is an Army CID officer home on leave after an IED attack. He should be rehabbing his leg, weaning himself off painkillers, signing divorce papers, and staying out of the way of his sister's reelection campaign for sheriff. Instead, Mick tells Shifty he'll take a look. 

That look shows that there's more to the killing than it seems, so Mick keeps looking. And starts getting shot at himself.

~

After reading Chris Offutt's first Mick Hardin book, The Killing Hills, I looked forward to this second book, Shifty's Boys. Offutt has a way with language, setting, and characterization that I find impossible to resist.

Offutt's keen photographer's eye gives readers descriptive "snapshot" phrases that put them right into the Kentucky hills along with Mick Hardin and the rest of the characters. Readers see the flash of cardinals' wings and hear the breeze through the leaves of the trees. In fact, you could say that the setting is just as much a character in Shifty's Boys as the two-legged ones. The dialogue, too, makes me feel right at home, and comments such as "Them Ryans are so stuck up they'd drown in a hard rain" make me smile and think of my grandparents.

There's a bit of a Jack Reacher feeling to this book, as there was in The Killing Hills, and the plot often takes a backseat to the setting and the characters, but with the story's steady pace, I didn't mind a bit.  

 

I felt at home with the characters. After all, how can I turn my nose up at Mick who's let Roscoe the "house snake" live under his cabin's porch for ten years when I spent a summer sharing a poolside umbrella with a black widow spider? (Mick would probably think I was the strange one.) There are characters to love in Shifty's Boys. For example, Mick's sister, Linda, the sheriff who's up for reelection. She's known (and liked and respected) in the area for arresting her own brother. There's Jacky Turner, a genuine Mr. Fix-It with a penchant for inventing things "for the good of mankind." I also liked Albin the cab driver and was sorry to see him disappear once Mick's truck was repaired.

I even found a place that I wish I could visit: the "Coffee Tree, a bookstore that sold sandwiches and yarn." I figure my patronage alone would keep that place open. Chris Offutt's Mick Hardin books are centered around some of the real-life ugliness in a hard-hit part of Kentucky, but they're not just about the bad. Through reading his stories, readers also see the natural beauty of the landscape and the humor, heart, and resourcefulness of its people. Book three, here I come.

Shifty's Boys by Chris Offutt

eISBN: 9780802159991

Grove Atlantic © 2022

eBook, 272 pages

 

Noir, #2 Mick Hardin mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt

 

First Line: The old man walked the hill with a long stick, pushing aside mayapple and horseweed, seeking ginseng.

 

Combat veteran and Army CID agent Mick Hardin is home on leave in the Kentucky hills to be with his pregnant wife, but some news has caused a strain in their marriage. Mick's sister Linda is the newly elected sheriff and is in charge of her first murder investigation. But when local movers and shakers want to take the investigation out of her hands and put it in someone else's, she turns to her brother for help.

 

With his experience and knowledge of the area, Mick is perfect for clandestine fact-gathering. While he avoids calls from his commanding officer, Mick delves into the dangerous rivalries lurking beneath the surface of his fiercely private hometown. And in the back of his mind, he knows he can't keep on avoiding his wife.

 

Mick knows the name of the game is betrayal, both on a very personal level and between the clans that live deep within the hills and hollers of the place he calls home-- and he is all too aware of how quickly betrayal can turn into violence.

 

~

 

The booksellers at my favorite indie bookstore are responsible for making me notice Chris Offutt's The Killing Hills, and I'm glad I paid attention. Offutt's book made such an impression on me that I can't wait to read more of Mick Hardin's adventures.

 

The setting in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky is pitch-perfect with its deep woods, steep-sided trails, and plenty of places to hide. The residents of those hills and hollers are also vividly drawn, with their clannish affiliations and long memories. They find any way they can to survive, and the choices can be on the wrong side of the law. Life is hard there. So much so that it's the only area in the United States in which the life span is shorter than it was twenty years ago. 

 

The colloquial dialogue with its oftentimes humorous turns of phrase made me feel right at home, although if you're like my friend in Minnesota you may not cotton to the southernness of the language (she says with tongue in cheek). Don't worry, though. Offutt doesn't layer on that southern talk with a trowel, so you shouldn't be a bit confused.

Mick is definitely the star of the show, and I loved following him around as he investigated the murder. His knowledge of the people and the area are so profound that, once he knew the identity of the dead woman, he knew which people to question and which ones to watch. His success in dealing with these clannish people is due in equal parts to skill, familiarity, and magic. Watching him avoid danger in the woods by using simple tricks like knowing which bird calls means all's well is a joy and put me right beside him on the page.

 

Setting, dialogue, characters, mystery... the icing on the cake was the compassionate, intelligent way everything was wrapped up, from the solution to the murder to the strain between Hardin and his wife. I definitely need to read more of Chris Offutt's writing.

The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt

eISBN: 9780802158420

Grove Atlantic © 2021

eBook, 225 pages

 

Noir, #1 Mick Hardin mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope by C.W. Grafton

First Line: My secretary said that there was a Miss Ruth McClure to see me and I said that she could come on in.

Gil Henry may be short, chubby, and live at the YMCA. He may also be the youngest partner in a small law firm, but when a pretty young thing named Ruth McClure walks into his office and asks him to investigate the value of the stock she inherited from her father, he can't say no. Even when someone makes an attempt on his life, he continues his investigation because Gil smells something rotten and he's determined to get to the bottom of it.

Gil is beaten, shot, and stabbed. He's up to his neck in scandal, murder, and secrecy. He can't even look to his colleagues for help, so he teams up with Ruth and her secretive brother to find answers to the questions someone most definitely does not want him to answer.

I picked up this book on the recommendation of a trusted source and also because C.W. Grafton is the father of Sue Grafton. It is an honest portrayal of America on the eve of its entry into World War II and therefore may offend some readers occasionally. I choose not to become offended, instead deciding to be happy that we've moved away from that way of thought and behavior. (But honestly, there are not many such instances.)

What I found was a well-written, fast-paced mystery that kept me guessing. Wonder of wonders-- I enjoyed it. Any hardboiled or noir mysteries of this period usually bore me to tears. I find them pretentious and formulaic, but one of the main reasons why I didn't find The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope to be that way was due to Grafton's light touch and marvelous sense of humor.

This Library of Congress Crime Classic is packed with extras: a foreword, introduction, footnotes, something about the war, a reading group guide, a section on further reading, and a few pages about the author. I have to be honest and say that I didn't read all of them, but what I did read was informative, and I found the footnotes quite useful when I didn't quite understand certain terminology.

Yes, I did enjoy C.W. Grafton's first mystery. Am I going to start reading more hardboiled mysteries? I don't think so. They're not quite my cup of tea, although if I did find more written like this one, I just might change my mind.

The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope by C.W. Grafton

eISBN: 9781464212994

Poisoned Pen Press © 2020

Originally published in 1943.

eBook, 304 pages

Hardboiled/Noir, #1 Gil Henry mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones

First Line: The house is a narrow two-story, two-bedroom, redbrick Colonial with two and a half baths, hardwood floors and a small kitchen.

August Snow is the son of an African-American father and a Mexican-American mother. When he was drummed out of the Detroit Police Department by corrupt cops and city officials, he didn't take it laying down. His wrongful dismissal settlement gave him the money to move back to his old Mexicantown neighborhood and start bringing it back to life, one house at a time.

Obeying a summons to Grosse Pointe Estates, Snow learns that the wealthy Eleanore Paget wants him to investigate unusual dealings at her bank, but detective work is no longer his business, and he declines. The next day, Paget is dead-- an apparent suicide. Not buying that verdict for a second, Snow begins his own inquiry which leads him straight into a snake's den of Detroit's most dangerous criminals.

There are two main characters in Stephen Mack Jones' debut novel: the city of Detroit which was brought to its knees during the economic crisis of 2008, and ex-cop August Snow. While Jones' portrait of Detroit is powerful and memorable, it is the character of August Snow that garnered most of my attention. Snow is a man who is guided by his father's words: "We are defined by those we could have helped and chose not to." Due to his heritage, Snow is no stranger to bigotry, and it's his feeling of guilt over refusing to help rich, nasty, white Eleanore Paget that makes him investigate her death.

As he investigates, he begins to gather around him a very interesting secondary cast of characters. Snow is not only looking into a woman's death, he is also working to revive his old neighborhood, and this secondary cast helps him to achieve both goals. Neophyte drug dealer Jimmy Radmon, Frank the security guard at Paget's estate, Carlos from across the street, and the elderly Carmela and Sylvia next-door all have their parts to play, and these characters' interactions with Snow form one of the strongest parts of the book.

There are unexpected barks of laughter to be found in August Snow. This tale from a minority viewpoint is not all gloom and doom. Ultimately, it is pragmatically hopeful. I loved the story, and I loved Snow's voice-- so much so that I certainly hope I will be seeing him again in the near future.
  

August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones

ISBN: 9781616957186

Soho Crime © 2017

Hardcover, 320 pages

Noir, Standalone?

Rating: A

Source: the publisher   


 

Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman

First Line: Griffin coughed blood into my face when I made to slip the chains under his shoulders.

Divided into two halves, Tower tells the parallel stories of Nick and Todd. It's the classic tale of childhood friends pulled toward different sides of the law, each scene filling in backstories, love lives, errands for a Bible-quoting gangster named Boyle performed under the watchful eye of Griffin the enforcer.

This is the first-- and so far only-- collaboration between noir masters Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman. Their styles blend together perfectly with not one wasted word. The story of Nick and Todd is both brutal and tender, raw and poetic. 

I don't read many noir novels, but I have learned that Ken Bruen, that mad Celt, uses language like no other. He was the one that drew me to this book. In reading Tower I learned that Reed Farrel Coleman can match Bruen stride for stride. There's something quite visceral about their writing; it's like being stabbed with a knife, and as such, you never quite forget it. There's not much that can be said about this collaboration. It's powerful. It's memorable. And it certainly makes me want these two to join forces again.
  

Tower by Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman

ISBN: 9781935415077 

Busted Flush Press © 2009

Paperback, 172 pages

Noir, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap  


 

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

First Line: Augie Odenkirk had a 1997 Datsun that still ran well in spite of high mileage, but gas was expensive, especially for a man with no job, and City Center was on the far side of town, so he decided to take the last bus of the night.

The one regret Bill Hodges had when he retired from the police force was that he hadn't thrown the Mercedes Killer behind bars. Now he's anesthetizing himself with a barrage of junk food and daytime television... until he gets a letter from the lunatic who plowed a Mercedes sedan into a crowd of innocent people lining up for a job fair. 

Brady Hartsfield loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. He has plans, but he just can't resist rubbing Hodges' nose in his failure before carrying those new plans out. What Brady can't anticipate is that his letter will halt the ex-cop's slide into oblivion, teaming Hodges up with two very unlikely allies. This time Brady is intent on killing thousands, and Bill Hodges is hell-bent on stopping him.

Even though Stephen King has given me hours of enjoyment with so many of his novels, I have to admit that I was a bit peeved when Mr. Mercedes won the 2015 Edgar Award for Best Novel. (I'd been rooting for one or two of the other nominees.) Then I read the book, and I understood why it won. This is the first straight-up mystery thriller of his career-- with no supernatural bits at all-- and it's fantastic. Once I started Mr. Mercedes, i wanted to sink down into the story and not reappear until I finished it. I didn't allow myself to-- but it was difficult.

To me, Stephen King's writing voice has always felt like snuggling my toes down into a pair of comfy slippers. I'm at home listening to that voice of his, and I refuse to stop and wonder if I should be concerned about what that says about my own mind. Once again King brings readers right into the heart and soul of the marginalized, reminding us of what it feels like to have no job, to be hungry, to have no real roof over our heads... and what it feels like to have Death come roaring out of nowhere to plow us into the asphalt.

The killer, Brady Hartsfield, is a Norman Bates-like psychopath whose two jobs will give readers pause, but as well-drawn as he is, it's Bill Hodges and his crew that hog the spotlight and deservedly so. With one crazed letter, Hodges comes out of retirement raring for a rematch, and this time he's determined to win no matter the cost. His two sidekicks-- a young black man named Jerome and Holly, a fortysomething woman with Asperger's and a horrid beast of a mother-- are perfect for helping him find clues, for providing laughs, and creating poignant moments that can bring tears to the eye.

This tightly plotted mystery will have you anxious to reach the end, and when you reach it, you will find a tense, teary, bone-chilling climax that will have
you clamoring for the next book in King's trilogy. 
 

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

ISBN: 9781501125607
Pocket Books © 2015
Mass Market Paperback, 560 pages

Thriller, #1 Bill Hodges trilogy
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.
 

Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman

First Lines: Some people swallow their grief. Some let it swallow them.

Tragedy strikes, and the bottom drops out of Gus Murphy's world. His marriage implodes. His daughter is on the fast track to self-destruction. Instead of being a happily retired Suffolk County police officer, Gus is now divorced and drives a courtesy van for the past-its-best hotel where he has a room. The only thing that keeps his grief at bay is the mindless routine he has created for himself.

All that changes when ex-con Tommy Delcamino asks him for help. Four months ago the brutalized body of Tony's son was found in an abandoned lot, and the police don't seem to be doing a thing to find his killers. Tony is desperate, and he's turned to the only decent cop he's ever known and trusted: Gus Murphy.

Gus agrees, more or less just to get Tony out of his face, but then he becomes committed. He learns that Tony was telling the truth. Everyone who was involved with Tony's son has something to hide-- and they're deadly serious about keeping those things hidden.

This is my first experience reading a book written by Reed Farrel Coleman, and although my reactions are mixed, I doubt that it will be my last. Where It Hurts is a bit too "noir P.I." for me, but Coleman writes beautifully and put me right inside Gus's head. At the beginning Gus is a robot, and "robots know only what they need to know." As he takes on this investigation, we get to watch him coming out of his grief-stricken inertia. 

However, the pace of this book was excruciatingly slow for two-thirds of its length, probably because we spend too much time in Gus's head, and he hasn't been properly re-introduced into society yet. Depressing and slow as it may be, after reading Where It Hurts, I can see why Coleman is admired by so many people.    

Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman

ISBN: 9780399173035

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2015

Hardcover, 368 pages

Noir, #1 Gus Murphy mystery

Rating: B-

Source: Amazon Vine


 

Green Hell by Ken Bruen

First Line: The day began... badly.

But then almost every day begins badly for Jack Taylor. Once again he's hit rock bottom. Of his two best friends, one is dead and the other refuses to speak to him, and he's given up battling his addictions to alcohol and pills. You might be forgiven for thinking that Jack Taylor spends most of his time lying comatose in some dark room, becoming conscious long enough only to stumble out for more booze and drugs.

Wonder of wonders, he's taken up a vigilante case concerning a respected professor of literature at the University of Galway. Seems the respected man of letters has some very nasty tendencies that other men higher up on the success ladder than the rest of us are more than happy to overlook. 

Jack Taylor has never ignored anything like that in his life, and what's more he has a sidekick this time around. After being saved by Jack from a couple of thugs, a young American on a Rhodes Scholarship has abandoned his thesis to write a biography of his savior. This isn't a recipe for success. Just when everything has begun to spiral out of control, in walks an edgy young Goth named Emerald. But... is Emerald the solution or part of Jack's problem?

I've been a fan of Ken Bruen's wonderful noir Jack Taylor books since the very first, The Guards, and I doubt that I will ever forget my reaction to the gut-wrenching ending of The Dramatist. This is not a series to read when you're feeling low and needing a pick-me-up. Jack Taylor may have the soul of a poet, but he has enough flaws for two people, his addictions will always be with him, and he can turn extremely violent in the blink of an eye. But there's something about the way Bruen writes this man that makes me care deeply for him, regardless of how lost or hopeless he is. Jack is lost, Jack is hopeless, for the simple reason that he cares so much, and it's a difficult thing to watch someone whose heart and intentions are so good continue to do things that can be so bad.

In Green Hell, once again Jack is dealing with someone who's seemingly above the law. As far as he's concerned, he has nothing to lose, so he welcomes the chance to mete out some long overdue justice. Since Jack no longer has friends, Bruen has paired him up with two opposites: a naive young American and a mysterious Goth girl. Having been saved from what could've been a deadly beating, Boru Kennedy is a young American who's completely under Jack's spell. To him Jack may as well be an Irish Don Quixote tilting at Galway's windmills of injustice. Kennedy's thesis on Becket used to take up his every waking thought, but now he can't get enough of Jack, and through his obsession, readers get to see Taylor through completely new eyes.

Emerald the Goth girl refuses to be pinned down. Is she temptress, joker, damsel in distress, or the purest form of retribution? Jack seems a bit dazzled and unable to make up his mind just what she's up to-- or if she's up to anything at all.

With its new sidekicks, Green Hell has a different feel-- an almost retrospective one-- to the other books in the series, and I enjoyed little touches like Ziggy and a postcard about The Poisoned Pen bookstore. But Jack is a bit too much out of control in this one, and as a result the book doesn't have the full power of several of the earlier books. But it's impossible for me to stop in Ireland without going to Galway to check on Jack Taylor. He's the kind of guy you never ever forget-- and one that you never stop hoping will have just a tiny smidgen of good luck. Just once.
 

Green Hell by Ken Bruen

eISBN: 9780802191304

Mysterious Press © 2015

eBook, 304 pages

Noir, #11 Jack Taylor mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley 

The Dirty Book Murder by Thomas Shawver

First Line: The young women disappeared, one after the other, a week apart.

Lawyer-turned-bookman Michael Bevan is a damaged soul whose wife's death sent him into a tailspin from which he's still recovering. He's found terra firma with his book business, and he's hoping to find some saleable books at a Kansas City auction house. The auction house has listed a collection of erotica, but Bevan doesn't expect to find anything worth his time. What he does find are exquisite Japanese Shunga scrolls and a first edition Colette novel that has an inscription by Ernest Hemingway-- in other words, the stuff of dreams.

Outbid by a stranger, Bevan rues his bad luck, but in an auction house fracas, he notices another book dealer steal the Colette novel. The next day, the thieving dealer is found dead, and Michael Bevan is the prime suspect. He's got to clear his name fast because he's pretty sure no one is going to let him sell books out of his prison cell.

This slim little volume in the Random House Alibi eBook mystery line, could almost be called a ringer. With its cover and its title, I expected something light and almost frivolous, but the bookman angle intrigued me so I decided to give it a try. I'm very glad I did. This is a meaty tale of books, damaged souls, darkness and perversion. When I finished reading, my first thought was that I wanted more.

The author knows his Kansas City setting, and his background of the military, the law, and books mirrors that of his main character. There's the ring of truth in Shawver's pages that really hooked me. The characters are complex and show surprising sides of themselves as the book's tone changes from light to dark-- and the plot made me more tolerant of characters like Bevan's daughter who is Master Class at being bitchy and difficult. (Actually, it was more than the plot; it had a lot to do with Shawver's skill in characterization.)

More than anything else, The Dirty Book Murder reminded me of John Dunning's superb Cliff Janeway series. When Dunning stopped writing those books, he left a gaping hole in crime fiction. What I experienced in reading this book leads me to hope that Thomas Shawver, with his own characters, his own experiences, and his own knowledge of books, will pick up Dunning's baton and lead the way to reading nirvana.

The Dirty Book Murder by Thomas Shawver

ISBN: 9780804179270 

Alibi, a Division of Random House © 2014

eBook, 220 pages

Amateur Sleuth/Noir, #1 Rare Book mystery

Rating: B+

Source: NetGalley

Helsinki Blood by James Thompson

First Lines: July eleventh. A hot summer Sunday. All I want is some goddamned peace and quiet.

Inspector Kari Vaara's career in law enforcement has been the polar opposite of easy. He's still recuperating from the severe injuries he sustained in Helsinki White as well as recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor. He may still be a wreck physically, but one of the side effects of the tumor and its removal-- feeling no emotions whatsoever-- is slowly fading, and Vaari feels himself becoming a bit more comfortable in his own skin.

He'd feel even better if his American wife weren't suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Kate, after ignoring him for weeks, has dropped off their infant daughter Anu and then disappears. But no matter how bad things get, Vaara feels that he deserves it-- and he wants to redeem himself. Possible redemption arrives in the form of an Estonian woman who begs Vaara to find her daughter, Loviise. Loviise, a young girl who suffers from Down Syndrome, has been enticed to Helsinki with promises of a better job, and her mother fears that she's fallen prey to human traffickers. For an understaffed police department, Loviise is just one more missing girl. For Varra, she's a chance to prove that he's capable of being the man he once was. He soon finds himself playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with enemies old and new.

I have been a fan of James Thompson's books from the very first, Snow Angels, and this is one series that I do recommend people read in order. His main character, Inspector Kari Vaara, is made to walk through fire, and if you pick up a book at random to read it, you're probably going to miss too much for you to fully appreciate what he's going through. Furthermore, this is not a comfortable series to read. The picture Thompson paints of both Helsinki and of Finland is often depressing and violent, but through all four books, he's never let me forget that beauty has always been there and is worth fighting for.

The inspector is a good man capable of doing terrible things-- and he does do them. Vaara reminds me of how many of the best "good guys" have a touch of the criminal about them. There's almost something mythic about this character-- the insurmountable odds he faces, how he is scarred as he fights monsters both real and imagined, how he always strives to do right and feels remorse and the need to atone when he doesn't measure up to his own standards (and those of his beloved wife).

The success of these books will definitely depend upon each reader's comfort zone. If you don't like violence, don't read these books. If reading about a good man doing bad things makes you uncomfortable, stay away. And if you don't like the idea that there are men in high government positions all around the world who are corrupt and capable of the most heinous crimes, James Thompson is not for you. However, if you savor complex, dark, gritty, beautifully written stories about a flawed man determined to be and to do good, I highly recommend James Thompson.

Helsinki Blood by James Thompson

ISBN: 9780399158889

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2013

Hardcover, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Inspector Kari Vaara mystery

Rating: A

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers program