Category: Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller Page 124 of 154

by Joe Klingler
Series: Tommy Cuda, #1

Kindle Edition, 400 pg.
Cartosi, LLC, 2015

Read: January 30, 2016

I can’t put my finger on precisely why (at the very least, I probably needed to take a few more minutes between books), but the first page or two of this book really turned me off — five or six paragraphs in, and I was already groaning at the length of this book. And then I hit the line:

Where could I find a life as exciting as a detective novel? Or at least a pop song?

Nothing special, but the second question got my attention. Tommy Kelsey might be my kind of guy after all — the reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy at the bottom of the page just sealed the deal.

Tommy’s tired of being tethered to his smart phone, he’s not entirely sure he wants to continue with the lady in his life, needs a break from his friends and his job, he — actually, let me let his mother sum it up:

She held my shoulder with her right hand. “You just celebrated your last twenty-something birthday. You see the big three-oh coming at you down the long highway of life, so you want to run away to find something before old age pins you to the mat.” She smiled and let go. “And makes you cry uncle.”

Mom was okay. I didn’t think so back in high school, but she seemed smarter now.

Tommy grabs a few essentials (his guitar, some records, clothing, etc.), throws them in the trunk of his restored Plymouth Barracuda (with a 426 Hemi V8 ) and hits the road to some unknown destination. He’s not on the road before too long before he picks up a hitchhiker — a potentially dangerous move, but he’s clearly in an impulsive mood — and he’s clearly attracted to her. In an attempt to impress Mona Meyers, he says that he’s a Private Investigator named Tommy Cuda (Kelsey didn’t seem like a name worthy of her, and the nearby dashboard provided the inspiration he needed). Mona’s intrigued by that and hires him to find someone for her once they reach Chicago.

She disappears the next day, leaving behind some money and a photograph of herself, with a note on the back:

Find me, Tommy— M.

Finding Mona ends up being pretty easy — the challenge is in figuring out what to do with her once that’s been accomplished. Not only that, but finding her lands Tommy in the middle of a web of crime, one that leads him into investigations that will involve a shooting, grand theft auto, and several other things that I can’t say because they’d be spoilers, and you have to read the book anyway to believe my list — outlandish, strange, and yet totally logical in this world.

As interesting as that all is — and it was quite the knot to untie — what sold this book for me was the characters, starting with the people that Tommy ends up surrounding himself with — there’s the waitress/aspiring criminologist who helps Tommy enough that you could almost say he tags along with her; the librarian/artist/personal stylist who helps him around town; the B&B employee (yeah, typical hard-boiled P.I. stays at a B&B); the coat girl who wants to be a police officer, the eccentric mechanic, a hotel valet/blues musician who can connect you with anything on the street that you need; and of course, Mona. Almost any one of these would be enough of a pal/associate for a P. I., but Klingler gives us all of these in an embarrassment of riches. I would willingly, maybe eagerly, read another 100-200 pages with any of them.

And then there’s Tommy — the poor guy who is clearly in over his head, but knows it and is doing whatever he can to find the girl, earn his money, maybe save the girl — and play a little guitar while enjoying his new friends. Tommy reminded me a lot of Harry Lockhart, from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, especially when he said things like,

Now I knew why private eyes in novels were always smoking a cigarette: it was nerve-wracking having no idea what was going on.

I enjoyed watching him flounder around, trying to figure out how to do this thing that he’s read about and watched movies about, but is honestly clueless. about. Yet somehow — with a little help from his friends — he gets the job done. Sure, the ladies threw themselves at him in a way that was tough to believe, but that goes with the genre territory.

I will read better books this year, though this was a good one — but I will not read many that will be more fun. Missing Mona was a great ride, and I’m hoping that Tommy Cuda gets behind the wheel of his Barracuda again soon. Klingler has a couple of other books on his résumé that I’ll be getting my hands on pronto, too, just to see if he has the same touch there. Check this one out, folks, you’ll thank me.
—
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair review, which was awfully generous of him, and it’s really appreciated.

—–

4 Stars

The Intern by Dale Wiley

By HCNewton

On February 2, 2016

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Intern

by Dale Wiley

PDF, 200 pg.
Vintage Burn, LLC, 2014

Read: January 30, 2016

So I went to the Watergate. I did it because it seemed the thing to do when one was just getting embroiled in some amazing Washington scandal. You don’t hide out at the Hampton Inn; you go straight to the source, the same place Howard Hunt and G. Gordon
Liddy did.

There were other reasons for choosing the Watergate as well. I didn’t want to drive far, and increase the chance of being pulled over and found out. Even if I had wanted to drive, I didn’t know the suburbs that well, and the hotels probably weren’t that much cheaper anyway. I knew of hotels I assumed to be cheaper in the city, but they were in such wonderful neighborhoods that I didn’t want to take the chance of avoiding my pursuers only to succumb to some random mugging. I also knew right where it was, and could get there without wasting a minute of time. I had been to the Watergate once before, to drink with my college friend Susan, so, along with remembering their overpriced gin and tonics, I knew it had a parking garage the size of Philadelphia, which would probably keep my car from being discovered during the night. And most importantly, I thought it would be really cool to stay at the Watergate.

Trent Norris is not crazy about living in Washington, D. C. He’s working as an intern at the National Endowment for the Arts , which isn’t horrible — but the general atmosphere, the parking, the expenses and so on — it’s just not for him. He has a plan for what to do to get out, but we’re not really told what that might be (later, there’s discussion of an unsuccessful novel — that might be part of it). He likes his job well enough, he’s started dating someone that he could see himself falling for in a big way — so life’s not all bad.

The day after one of the best dates of his life, Norris is covering the desk and phone for a higher-up’s secretary, and is in the right place at the wrong time to take the wrong phone call. Then, because he’s just that kind of guy, he plays a silly prank as a feeble act of protest for a decision the same higher-up just made that will impact people all over the country. As pranks are wont to do, this one is mis-interpreted and Norris finds himself framed for heinous crimes he didn’t commit — and plenty of media coverage demonstrating that he did. He enlists the help of an escort, Tabitha, to help him in his time of need — which she more than does.

Running from the Law — he’s out to prove he didn’t do it, clear his name, not get killed by law enforcement…and hopefully still have a shot at getting the girl.

As disinterested as I was in the crime (which was sensational, but seemed almost tertiary to everything), as much as I cared nothing for the protagonist, once I got to the part where things are falling apart for Norris, when he’s starting to see the accusations pile up, I really admired the way Wiley had set everything up. It was very well constructed and executed.

Until I was typing this post up and read the Publisher’s Description, I had no idea when this was set. A reference to Borders Bookstore threw me, and little later, I noticed the utter lack of cell and/or smartphones. A few chapters later the protagonists ordered a laptop with a Zip drive and floppy disks! Wow. I didn’t realize I was reading historical fiction. Taking me out of the action long enough to flip back and forth through the pages looking for time references . A little more text on page 1 would’ve gone a long way to help the reader (or, at least, me).

Early on, Norris rubbed me the wrong way, and while I didn’t like him, I found the situation he was in interesting enough to keep going. Some of his redeeming — humanizing — qualities were brought out late in the book, but by that point it was hard to overcome my initial misgivings. Stephanie was nice enough — not that we got to spend much time with her. Tabitha was the only character I really liked at all — even if she seemed to serve as a shortcut more often than not for Trent to get what he needs — oh, you need a hacker? Let me make a call. How do we bypass a security system? I have just the client willing to do me a favor? And so on. (and maybe the large amount of gold content in her heart was difficult to believe). Still, she was more interesting and likable than anyone else around.

This was a great depiction of the havoc that the media (especially in a 24-hour news cycle) can wreak on an individual with very little evidence — see Richard Jewell, for example. Wiley seemed to capture the impotent rage and disbelief at how quickly one’s whole life can be turned upside down in hours when the media decides you’re the villain.

Just entertaining enough, just well-written enough, with characters just intersesting enough to keep the pages turning — Wiley gives the reader just enough to entertain, and be open to reading more from him. I do want to stress, how well constructed this was — every seemingly stray detail is there for a reason, and no strings are left untied. I’ve read novels from seasoned authors that can’t pull off that level of construction, and Wiley doing so in his first time to bat is no small thing.

—
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair review.

—–

3 Stars

Opening Lines – Staked by Kevin Hearne

By HCNewton

On January 27, 2016

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations, Spenser

Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s true for wearing dark shirts, and it’s especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it’s just knowing the author — but nothing beats a great opening for getting a reader to commit. This is one of the better openings I’ve read recently. Would it make you commit?

I didn’t have time to pull off the heist with a proper sense of theatre. I didn’t even have a cool pair of shades. All I had was a soundtrack curated by Tarantino playing in my head, one of those songs with horns and a fat bass track and a guitar going waka-chaka-waka-chaka as I padded on asphalt with the uncomfortable feeling that someone was enjoying a voyeuristic close-up of my feet.

from Staked by Kevin Hearne

Reposting: Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman

By HCNewton

On January 26, 2016

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

It’s Publication Day for Where It Hurts, so I thought I’d better throw this up again. Go get your hands on it.
—

Where It Hurts

by Reed Farrel Coleman

Series: Gus Murphy, #1
ePub, 353 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2016

Read: November 26 – 27, 2015

I honestly don’t know where to start with this, once again Reed Farrel Coleman has provided me with a book that I really want to talk about, but I’m not sure how to proceed, beyond saying that this is really good.

Where It Hurts is gritty, bleak, tragic, and tense with a strange sense of hope filtering though the depression, pain and grief. If that miasma makes sense to you, you’ll get the feel for this book. If it doesn’t, you’ll understand why I struggled for almost a month with this.

Gus Murphy is a retired uniformed police officer — retired young, I should add. His life has been shattered by a calamity that struck without warning and without mercy; bringing an end to his career, his marriage, his faith, and his relationship with his daughter. His ex-wife and daughter aren’t faring too well in the aftermath, either — you could make the case that Krissy, his daughter, is worse off than Gus.

Two years after his world came to an end, it’d be nice to say that Gus has started to put his life back together — he hasn’t. He has, however, figured out how to exist, and honestly that’s about it.

It’s into this state of mind, state of being that we first encounter Gus and from there Where It Hurts really gives us two stories. The first is a story about an ex-cop being asked (and agreeing) to look into a months-old homicide on behalf of a father — who has a record long enough that the Suffolk County PD isn’t that interested in helping him or taking any evidence he might have gathered for them. Enter Gus. The other is a story of a grieving father dealing with the aforementioned fallout of the tragedy and — thanks to other story — a renewed interest in life beyond this grief and anger. In the end, both stories end up feeding the other as Gus remembers what living was like, what being a cop was like.

As well-written and plotted as book is — with a well-done mystery, your appreciation for this book will come down to the question of what you think of Gus. If you don’t care about him, aren’t interested in what makes him tick — the rest isn’t going to maintain your interest. If you do care, are curious, are sympathetic, are fill-in-the-blank, there’s no reason you won’t be satisfied with it.

I’ve only read 5 or so of Block’s Matthew Scudder books — and that was a while ago — but Gus reminded me a lot of Scudder. Instead of battling his addiction, he battled his loss (and, yes, I realize both are probably doing the same thing — but Scudder identifies as a drunk, Gus doesn’t). I found it particularly interesting — and on the whole, original — the way that Coleman dealt with and explored Gus’ lack of faith. Because it’s not just your garden variety atheism/agnosticism — Gus is angry about his God not existing anymore (or at least his faith in Him). He talks about it a lot — so much so that you know it’s self-delusion to think of it as a loss of faith, while it’s anger at God for what happened to him. Gus isn’t Job, he has neither the patience or the faith to react like Job — and in his grief, he lashes out at the God who would do this to him/his family. To me, this felt genuine, I think I know this guy (or at least that reaction).

The supporting characters were great — the criminals suspected of the murder, the criminals adjacent to the murder, the police (although one bordered on being a cartoonish lout — but that seemed intentional), the people from Gus’ old life, those from his new. On the one hand, I didn’t think I got a great picture of his ex-wife, but on the other, I don’t think I needed to. A little more time with Krissy, however would’ve been good. Everything else was great, character-wise.

That was actually much easier than I thought it would’ve been. Where It Hurts strikes me as the kind of book that I could go on and on for pages about, but apparently not today. It might have to wait until book two comes out, so I can see where Gus goes from here. Does he remain in essentially the same spot, or does he make big, sustained steps out of mere existence and into a new life? The last few pages suggest that he does, but I know better than to expect that to remain the case. I actually could see me revising everything I said here about this book based on the sequel.

Regardless, a heckuva book — one that could appeal to thoughtful mystery readers, or general fiction readers willing to have a hefty dose of crime in their reads.

—–

4 Stars

—–

Note: I received a digital copy of this book from the nifty people at First to Read, as grateful as I am to them, that didn’t alter my appreciation of the book or what I said about it.

Santa 365 by Spencer Quinn

By HCNewton

On December 16, 2015

In Authors, Chet and Bernie, Dogs, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U, Spencer Quinn

Santa 365

by Spencer Quinn
Series: Chet and Bernie
Kindle Edition, 47 pg.
Atria Books, 2015

Read: December 15, 2015

There’s not a whole lot to say about this short story, but I’ll give it a whirl. Taking place sometime before The Dog Who Knew Too Much (the duo’s adventures involving a wilderness camp), this is the story of Bernie trying to throw a Christmas party for his friends and, more importantly, his son, Charlie. Naturally, because it’s a Chet and Bernie story, crime ensues, and Bernie’s able to set things right (and take care of another problem at the same time). Sure, given that most of Bernie’s social circle are either cops or perps that he and Chet have busted, there should be a lot more crime in Bernie’s life.

Suzie, and we, get to meet Bernie’s mother, Minerva. Something Bernie’s not too excited about (well, I don’t think he cares about us meeting her, Suzie, on the other hand . . . ). She was amusing, but I think Minerva could become too much very quickly. If she returns in a novel, I hope her appearance has about the same number of words.

I trust it’s because of the size of this story, but wow, this was a shallow and rushed thing. Still, it’s a pleasant read, fun to see Chet’s reaction to a Christmas tree and what not. There are a couple of lines from this story that belong in Quinn’s Top 20 All Time lines (a contested field, I realize), so I’m glad I read it, but I was left wanting a bit more.

—–

3 Stars

Winter and Night by S. J. Rozan

By HCNewton

On December 15, 2015

In Fiction, Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, S. J. Rozan

Winter and Night

by S. J. Rozan
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #8

Hardcover, 338 pg.
Minotaur Books, 2002
Read: December 11 – 14, 2015

On the whole, I enjoy the Lydia Chin novels in this series more than the Bill Smith ones, while I’d say the Bill Smith novels are better novels. Winter and Night was the best of both worlds — it was probably the best written in the series, and I really enjoyed it.

Bill gets a call in the middle of the night to come help a teen that the NYPD has taken into custody. He does brings the kid, Gary, home with him and hears a vague sob story about how Gary’s just trying to help, trying to do the right thing. And then he runs away. Bill gets Lydia to start looking for Gary in NYC while he goes to check out the kid’s hometown.

There’s more wrong in the small town Gary ran from than just a missing kid. This little town is football-crazy, I’m talking Texas football crazy, the kind of thing you think King of the Hill and Friday Night Lights is making too much of, but start to wonder if they’re not. Then there’s a dead high schooler. And seemingly every person in the town is telling Bill not to think that this had anything to do with a rape and murder over 20 years ago. Which, just gets him wondering, naturally.

This case gets under Bill’s skin, hitting close to home, and worse. Lydia compares him to a patched-up furnace that’s about to explode. He gets pretty close a couple of times, actually. Making this a rougher, more raw, more violent story (not that Bill’s books are absent violence). Because this is so close to him, he makes some really dumb mistakes — Bill, Lydia and the police spend a few chapters trying to prevent a crime that’s just not going to happen, and I spent far too much time annoyed with them from not seeing things are clearly as I could.

How does Rozan do it? Seriously, you get the same two characters in two different novels or four different always know each taking the lead and is like it’s two different series. You know, there’s a certain feel when you read a Robert Crais book — Elvis Cole book or a Joe Pike book, the books are different, and the two protagonists/narrative voiced are different. But you can tell they’re by the same writer. Not the case here — at all — it’s not even close. If you told me the two different people writing the series I’d absolutely believe you.

For my money, this is the best in the series (so far). Thoughtful, suspenseful, moody . . . everything you want in a P. I. novel.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

By HCNewton

On December 9, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Naturals

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Naturals, #1

Hardcover, 308 pg.

Disney-Hyperion, 2013
Read: December 8, 2015

We’ve all heard of Quantico, VA, the small town that is home to the FBI Academy, Laboratory, NCIS, and so on. What most of us don’t know is that it’s also home to a secret training ground for teenagers who are so intuitively good at profiling and other forensically-inclined psychological skills that they’re described as “Natural.” Two FBI agents and one retired Marine run this program and house, using the teens to crack cold cases. Sharpening their skills in a safe environment, so that when the time is ripe, they’ll be Super Agents.

The Naturals opens with Cassie — being raised by her grandmother while her father’s off somewhere with the Armed Services. She’s seventeen and can read people like a Richard Scarry book, which makes her a great small diner waitress. Until she’s given the chance to join program and she jumps at it, becoming the fifth member of the team.

Cassie jumps into the training, and picks things up quickly. I really enjoyed reading those scenes — she and Dean, the other profiler, sound so much like Will Graham from NBC’s Hannibal that I really got into it. Outside Quantico, things are afoot that will keep this from being all training and cold cases — and I bet, for those who survive, the next books will also pretty fresh cases, too.

Walking into a two-guy, two-gal house — and, apparently, being more attractive than she’s aware — Cassie complicates things. Soon she’s part of at least one Romantic Polygon. It’s not too painful at the moment, but I could see it overtaking things in a book or two. It’s marketed as YA, so it was likely anyway — still, you should know it’s out there.

None of the characters — including Cassie — are much more than groupings of characteristics and tics at this point, but I’d be willing to guess that they could be within another book or two. For now, they’re good enough for what the book is. It really is a fun read

A fast, fun read with just enough suspense to keep you moving, but not as much as you’d get in a Thomas Harris or Val McDermid psychological thriller — a great way to cut your teeth on the subgenre. I’ll come back for more — and I’ll pass it off to my daughter, who will likely eat it up.
—
Thanks to DanySpike for the blogpost that convinced me to give this one a try. I owe ya one.

—–

3 Stars

The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

By HCNewton

On December 8, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator

by Tarquin Hall
Series: Vish Puri, #1
Trade Paperback, 295 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2010
Read: December 2, 2015

Vish Puri is 50ish, pudgy (if not worse), culturally conservative, and easily impressed with himself. And, seemingly, a pretty decent Private Investigator. Unlike most P.I.’s in fiction, he’s not a lone wolf — and he doesn’t have one hyperviolent friend to back him up. He has a team — working for him, doing footwork, the tech stuff — that sort of thing. I wish we saw more of this in these kind of novels.

Anyway, Puri (known to his friends and family as “Chubby,” his employees as “Boss”) has two clients in this particular book — neither of which seems to appreciate the fact that he’s not the agency’s sole focus. One client — a retired army general of some prominence, wants a background check on his granddaughter’s fiancé — the wedding is weeks away and the general is sure something’s wrong with him.

The second client has a trickier case — he’s a lawyer with a track record of helping the lower classes and exploited, with an eye to environmental issues. A servant girl who had been working a few months for his family took off unexpectedly (with money owed her), but they didn’t really give it any thought. Months later, he’s being investigated (and, minor spoiler, but fairly obvious), and eventually charged with, her murder.

I know next to nothing about the Indian legal system, police workings, but a little more about the culture (let me stress the “little” there) — so this was all interesting and foreign to me. The widespread expectation — and acceptance — of corruption, bribery, and so on was pretty surprising. I realize that’s par for the course in some parts of the world, but for some reason, I didn’t think India would be one of those parts. The food, the economics, the convictions and conventions related to marriage, that sort of thing — yeah, I was prepared for that, just not the widespread bribery. Makes the Favor Bank in The Bonfire of the Vanities look like daycare.

There’s nothing for the reader to do with the background check case other than watch the way that the agency works — and the allies they utilize. There’s nothing really for the reader to pick up on to “solve” with the detective. But we do get to see the stealthy, quiet, un-hurried approach they take — despite the client’s expectations. Thankfully (for the way my brain works, anyway), there was plenty to chew on with the missing servant — and it was a pretty easy solution. But the way that Puri went about solving it, and the red herrings that were thrown in the way were well done and unique to this series and setting. I really appreciated the way this was constructed.

The narration has some fun at Puri’s expense — both directly, and though the thoughts of his employees and mother. He needs to diet, he’s prone to self-aggrandizement — but he’s good at his job, and that’s allowed to show forth, too. Beyond Puri, we don’t get to know anyone as a character really — little flashes of personality and backstory here and there, but nothing like a fully fleshed out character. But I don’t think that’s the kind of story that Hall is looking to tell here.

Amusing, clever, moved along nicely and was an interesting take on a culture I know nowhere near enough about — I’ll be back for another.

—–

3 Stars

Dry Bones by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On December 7, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Dry Bones

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #11
Hardcover, 306 pg.
Viking, 2015

Read: December 5, 2015
So, possibly the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever discovered is found in Wyoming (which is apparently a pretty good place to find them, who knew?), and there’s a battle brewing over who it (and the very large price tag that’ll surely be attached to it) belongs to. There’s enough drama there, but you don’t pick up a Walt Longmire novel for paleontological wrangling, you need a dead body or two. Thankfully, one shows up not too far away, and Walt’s old friend, Omar finds it.

Johnson’s pretty good at keeping several plates spinning, but this time he seems to have outdone himself — we’ve got a controversy over who gets custody over the T. Rex, with three different parties; a runaway; dealing with FBI and a Deputy U. S. Attorney looking to make a name for himself; Double Tough’s recovery from A Serpent’s Tooth; Vic’s continuing recovery from the same book; a visit from Cady and her daughter; oh, yeah, and the murder. About halfway through I actually stopped and wrote them all down, and asked myself “how’s he pulling this off?” I’m honestly not sure, but he did.

Which does mean he pulled it off flawlessly. It didn’t take too long to figure out where the Deputy Attorney story was going — aside from the running source of comedy. But honestly, I think we needed a couple more scenes to make it worthwhile. We got to see Lolo again — which was nice, but she didn’t get enough to do. Still, just glad to see she’s still in this world. I do think the skeleton controversy vanished a bit (understandably) in the middle, when I think it could’ve kept going.

But overall, this was a fun, quick ride, with Johnson (and Longmire) firing on all cylinders, and I can’t wait for the next one to see how the events of this book impact our friends going forward.

Oh no! I’m all caught up (other than the short story collection) with the Longmire books — whatever shall I do? Actually that’s a really good question, I’m going to miss my monthly visits to Absaroka County.

—–

4 Stars

Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

By HCNewton

On December 3, 2015

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Girl Waits with Gun

by Amy Stewart
Series: The Kopp Sisters, #1

Hardcover, 404 pg.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015
Read: November 27 – 28, 2015

He looked up and said, in a loud, plain voice, “She’s not a regular lady.”

That line is uttered in the final few pages of this novel, but it does a pretty good job of summing up Constance Kopp (and her two sisters, too). Fitting, really, for “of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.”

It’s 1914. Constance, her older sister Norma, and much younger sister, Fleurette, live on a farm in Northern New Jersey. They’re out for a drive into town in a carriage when an automobile slams into the side. Everyone escapes fairly unscathed, but rattled. Well, the ladies are rattled, the driver of the car, Henry Kaufman, and his companions are annoyed that the Kopps had the temerity to be on the road, much less be struck by a car. Constance demands payment for repairs, but Kaufman brushes her off.

But Constance is persistent and begins to annoy Kaufman, who’s notorious for busting a strike the year before (and should be notorious for worse). And when Kaufman gets annoyed bad things happen — a campaign for intimidation begins against the sisters. Soon it becomes a battle of wills — Kaufman’s arrogance and pride vs. Constance’s gumption, stubbornness, and sense of right.

Constance soon learns of more of Kaufman’s crimes and abuses, meeting other victims — who warn her just how bad things can be. While she tries to withstand Kaufman’s assaults, she begins to try to help other victims. At the same time, she befriends the local sheriff, one of the rare lawmen in the area who aren’t beholden to Kaufman and his peers.

There’s a lightness to the writing, but the subject matter is grim — and frequently uncomfortable. Whether it’s the persecution of the sisters, Constance’s investigation into Kaufman’s misdeeds, or Stewart exploring the events that brought the Kopps to their present circumstances, this is a hard world and it takes a certain kind of person to make it. But you wouldn’t know that from the narration, really — just as Constance maintains a proper disposition (or tries to) and manners, so does Stewart.

It would’ve been very easy to turn this into something it’s not. Probably very tempting, too. It could’ve been all about the gender disparity of the time, and a feminist crusade. Or about the economics and labor conditions of the area and time — the strikes and the way they were dealt with by the owners and police. Or any number of other things, really. And it was about those things, but primarily it was a story. A decently told story with well-constructed characters. You give me one of those, and you can throw whatever politics, economic theory, etc. you want into the mix and I’ll read it. I may not buy everything you’re selling, but I’ll listen, and if your story and characters are good enough, I’ll come back. Too many people — particularly with historical fiction, it seems — will do okay with the story, mess up the characters, but nail the agenda. Stewart avoided those pitfalls, and thereby served her audience and any possible point she wanted to better.

Now, while this is a novel, it appears that Stewart has done as much research as she could to make this as non-fiction as possible. I’ve wondered a bit about that approach, does that limit what parts of the story she tells? Which would account for some odd gaps. And if it does limit it — is that a good or a bad thing? Or does that depend on the writer? That’s probably it, for some writers, such a limit would be freeing, while others would find the restriction too much. Stewart, it seems, turns this into a strength — matching with her previous non-fiction publications.

A fun little ride, full of historical nuggets, and a family you’d like to spend some time with. A little action, a little danger, but not a lot of violence. A pleasant mix of historical fiction and mystery. It’ll work for the cozy reader, the historical fiction reader, and people who just like good stories.

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3 Stars