This is part of my Literary Locals series. Be sure to come back this afternoon for a Q&A with the author about this book—and in a couple of weeks to see his thoughts on writing in Idaho.
Harvested
by Troy Lambert
DETAILS: Series: Max Boucher Mysteries, #1 Publisher: Unbound Media Publication Date: March 15, 2019 Format: Paperback Length: 247 pg. Read Date: January 2-3, 2023
What’s Harvested About?
Max Boucher is a P.I. in Seattle. Like a good (fictional) P.I., he spends a lot of time drinking. He spends most of the rest of his time working just to make ends meet. He really wants to devote his time to looking for whoever murdered his daughter, killed his dog, and either kidnapped or murdered his wife. He—and his former colleagues in the Seattle PD—have followed every lead they have, but he’d spend all of his life going back over the evidence time and time again if he could.
Now, he’s taken on a case—he takes on every case that comes his way—that takes him back to his old neighborhood. The dog park that he and his family used to go to, in fact. There’s a rash of dognappings in the area, and owners have come together to hire him to find their canine friends. The police can/will only do so much, but Max can devote more time to it.
It doesn’t take long for things to get hairy—there’s a connection to a Korean mob boss. Some of the dogs start reappearing—with strange injuries. And it turns out that this has been happening all over Seattle for some time. Max isn’t sure what he’s gotten himself into, but it’s about a lot more than missing poodles.
Supporting Characters
Obviously, you’ve got to have a compelling P.I. in a book like this—and a good hook for the story. That’s what the reader comes for, and the writer had better deliver. A plausible villain, is important, too—but the others can overcome an iffy one. But what will really make a P.I. novel work is the supporting characters—the cop buddies/frenemies/rival (depending on the series), the client, the witnesses, and so on.
Lambert nails this throughout the book. I like Boucher and want to see more of him, but I enjoyed some of the side characters more than him. There’s a friendly and helpful veterinarian who could probably carry a cozy mystery series on her own—and I would buy six of those tomorrow if they existed.
There’s a guy who details Max’s car (he’s got an older car that’s his pride and joy)—which is something definitely called upon when your case involves carrying injured dogs (and injured detectives) around. If Eddie shows up for a scene or two in every book in the series, you can color me pleased. I’m not even sure why—I also don’t care much, I just liked him.
I’m not going to say I enjoyed the Korean mob boss* in the same way I did those two. But the scenes with him are some of the most intense in the novel.
* Ahem. Suspected boss, of a mob that may not even exist.
I could go on for a few more—I don’t remember exactly my point when I started this section, other than to rave about Dr. Gamble and Eddie. But I guess that I just want to stress that Lambert gives us more than a solid P.I. He knows how to give the reader characters to invest in and care about—even if only for a page or two.
Beware of (Hurt) Dogs
* (yeah, that’s a lame section title—but it’s better than “It’s a Dog Eat Dog Book” with the implied cannibalism)
I know I have readers who will be antsy about this book—we’re talking about kidnapped and injured dogs here (there’s a reason I have a recurring post about books about dogs who live). And for those who cannot take violence toward animals, this is a book to avoid.
I will say, however, almost all of the violence happens “off-screen”—you see very little of it on the page. And what you see on the page isn’t that bad (up until the climactic bit at the end, but the violence there is spread amongst characters with two and four legs (and the two-legged ones get the worst of it).
The point of this book is Boucher investigating the kidnappings, stopping them by getting to the bottom of things and rescuing as many dogs as he can. So if you’re on the fence, you can hold on to that.
So, what did I think about Harvested?
This was a good read. Lambert delivered in every way I wanted a book like this to—solid plot, unique case, great character work, and a pace that keeps you turning the pages long past the time you should put the book down for sleep or chores. I’d recommend this just for the (relative) novelty of a Seattle P.I.—mid-sized US cities need to be the setting of more P.I. novels. The book delivers on everything it promises and gives you an open (and welcome) invitation to come back for another. I know I’m accepting that invitation.
Oh—minor spoiler—by the end, one of the kidnapped dogs can’t be matched with an owner and ends up staying with Max. So you know I have to come back, just for more of him.
I’d have come back anyway—I want to see how Max moves on from this point in general. I’m quite curious about the clues he discovered regarding his wife’s case, too. I’m assuming (and really don’t want to know the truth until I’m into the next book) that book 2 will advance the investigation into his wife’s kidnapping while Max and his new partner dive into another stand-alone case—and we’ll continue that way for a while. That sounds like a great time to me. Grab this one—the second book is out now, you might as well grab it, too. You’ll have fun.
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