Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Serials and Scenarios ~ Mark Mynheir's Night Watchman



My Review:

I love that Mynheir is a real-life detective. His latest novel contains a bit of teaching element as his anti-hero, Ray Quinn, schools the ultimate anti-hero Crevis Creighton on the details of real life crime solving vs. what you see on television.

Ray’s best friend, Jim, lives with him and helps his deal with pain from a recent debilitating shooting and the death of his partner. Jim helps with the aftermath of the forced retirement, the new job as night watchmen, and chronic physical pain. Unfortunately, that friend, Jim, is Jim Beam of the whiskey family and Ray is not dealing well at all.

While going through the motions and countless Sudoku puzzles at a small apartment building, Ray spends his down time avoiding Crevis or sending him on wild goose chases. Until a body is discovered, and Ray finds himself in the midst of a tangled mess that is hard to resist.

The mystery is satisfying. Plenty of humor and quirk. A solid but not overdone faith thread runs throughout the novel. Loads of police procedure but not overly technical. Mynheir has a solid and engaging voice.

I love Ray and Crevis and hope to see much more of them in future books.