TO BRING MY SHADOW
In this hard-boiled crime novel, a California detective tries to connect the murder of a drug cartel enforcer with the killing of an entire family.
Frank Pinson’s life is an unholy mess—he’s an alcoholic; his wife of 25 years, Miranda, recently killed herself; and he’s estranged from his two kids. Nevertheless, he’s a homicide detective in San Diego, and so when someone is murdered, he shows up for work. Frank and his partner, Slade “Skinny” Ryerson, catch a gruesome case—a man is found stuffed into an oil barrel, shot, and mutilated. They discover his name is Enrico Frederico Pablo Castaneda, and, judging by the tattoo on his neck, he was part of a drug cartel. The young man who found him, Turner Malcolm, volunteers some apparently irrelevant information—he’s heard about a family that was murdered and buried, and his tip turns out to be solid. Mark Jacoby, a real estate developer, and his wife and daughter disappeared. Frank and Slade locate them—dead and interred—and are convinced their murders are connected to Castaneda’s. Phillips constructs a complex but grippingly lurid tale that artfully follows the ligature that binds the killing of a cartel henchman to a grander political conspiracy. In many ways, the book is the formulaic expression of a very specific literary genre—Pinson is a cynical and emotionally distraught man who pours the waning energy and decency he has left into his ghastly job. In fact, the author’s prose is so conspicuously evocative of this literary type it often seems like intentional self-parody: “Plenty of beauty out here in the devil’s playground. But that’s a twisted hell, too. Because every second somebody’s got to die.” Nonetheless, this remains an intelligently conceived and executed crime drama, and what it lacks in originality, it compensates for with a captivating story and well-drawn characters.
A thrilling addition to an old but still vital literary genre.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: All Due Respect
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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THE NIGHT FIRE
A cold case pulls Harry Bosch back from retirement and into another eventful partnership with Detective Renée Ballard of the LAPD.
The widow of Bosch’s retired mentor, Detective John Jack Thompson, has a present for Bosch, and it’s a doozy: the murder book for the unsolved killing of ex-con John Hilton, shot to death in his car one night nearly 20 years ago, which Thompson swiped from the archives without authorization or explanation. Bosch, who wonders why Thompson lifted the murder book if he didn’t intend to work the case, is eager to take a crack at it himself, but he needs the resources that only an active partner can provide. But Ballard, settled into the routine of the midnight shift after her exile from Robbery-Homicide (Dark Sacred Night, 2018), has just started working her own case, the arson that killed Eddie, a homeless man, inside his tent. As if that’s not enough criminal activity, Bosch’s half brother, Lincoln lawyer Mickey Haller, faces the apparently hopeless defense of Jeffrey Herstadt, who not only left his DNA under the fingernail of Walter Montgomery, the Superior Court judge he’s accused of killing, but also obligingly confessed to the murder. Working sometimes in tandem, more often separately, and sometimes actively against the cops who naturally bridle at the suggestion that any of their own theories or arrests might be flawed, Ballard and Bosch slog through the usual dead ends and fruitless rounds of questioning to link two murders separated by many years to a single hired killer. The most mysterious question of all—why did John Jack Thompson steal that murder book in the first place?—is answered suddenly, casually, and surprisingly.
Middling for this standout series but guaranteed to please anyone who thinks the cops sometimes get it wrong.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-48561-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
Categories: GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | POLICE PROCEDURALS
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WHO'S DEAD, DOC?
A bunny-loving farmer hopes that her telepathic connection to her pet rabbit can help her solve another murder.
Jules Bridge has dedicated her life to the care of rabbits. Not only does she own and operate Fur Bridge Farm, a venue dedicated to bunnies, but she has a number of rescue rabbits, an onsite vet, rabbit fur spinning classes, and even a few pet rabbits of her own. Sharing her love of the species is Jules’ calling, and it’s all in a day’s work when she celebrates young Adrian Richland’s birthday party with some rabbit show and tell. Jules is so focused on all things rabbit that it’s a shock to the system when the party erupts in human drama. Not only does Jules hear Adrian’s mother, Carina, arguing with guest Evelyn Montgomery, but later in the party, Evelyn is murdered, leaving Carina as the prime suspect. Carina approaches Jules about looking into who offed Evelyn, not only to save her own hide, but also because Jules has dipped her toe into investigating in the past (Left Fur Dead, 2019) and struck up a friendship with Sheriff Jack Carver to boot. Carina doesn’t know that Jules has a furry assistant who’s sure to make her investigation a success. Bun, the black-and-white rabbit who’s Jules’ favorite pet, communicates with her telepathically, and he quickly lets Jules know that he’s eager to help her dig into Evelyn’s murder. The investigation the duo launch into Evelyn’s dealings with a local rabbit show reveal that the dead woman was a mean, nasty person with too many enemies to count. Which candidates finally summoned the gall to end Evelyn’s life?
Rabbit-obsessed readers (hands, please? anyone?) will love the dedication to all things bunny. Others may find themselves out in the cold.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2058-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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