Highway 61: A McKenzie Novel (Mac Mckenzie) Review

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Highway 61: A McKenzie Novel (Mac Mckenzie) ReviewRushmore McKenzie is sweet talked by his girlfriend's daughter, Erica, into helping her father, Jason Truhler, who is being blackmailed by persons unknown. Someone has photographs of Jason lying unconscious in bed; nearby, a young girl, with her throat slashed, lies in a spreading pool of blood. McKenzie travels on Highway 61 from the Twin Cities to the Chalet Motel in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where the girl was stabbed. Jason is an unscrupulous pedophile who can't be trusted and McKenzie soon finds himself ensnared in a complex web involving drug trafficking, arson and internet prostitution. At the center of this web is a nineteen-year-old prostitute who has information for which everyone is willing to kill in order to obtain.
David Housewright's "Highway 61" is a prime example of modern noir. It has big guns, big thugs, car chases, illegal drugs and hot, young prostitutes who McKenzie must protect. All the while McKenzie's inner voice keeps telling him not to get involved in Jason Truhler's sordid existence; unfortunately, his love for Jason's ex-wife, Nina Truhler, owner of a classy jazz bar, and her daughter, compels him to continue his investigation. "Highway 61" is a fast-paced pot boiler that really explodes towards the end when the body count escalates. McKenzie doesn't know who to trust when betrayal runs rampant as characters desperately try to save their own skins.
"Highway 61" is the first novel I've read in the best-selling McKenzie mystery series, and now Housewright has me for a new fan. Honestly, if not for my research, I wouldn't have known "Highway 61" was the series' eighth installment. Nor does it seem to contain any major plot spoilers that would ruin the enjoyment of reading previous ones. Also, this is the first mystery that I've read that is set in the Twin Cities, a densely populated, metropolitan region, located in east central Minnesota, composed chiefly of Minneapolis and St. Paul. During his investigation, McKenzie travels the mean streets, seeking assistance from a wide assortment of unusual characters ranging from a career arsonist to a wealthy governor to an evil billionaire to a Heidi Fleiss-like madam.
I admire McKenzie. He's a large, handsome, mature man with a wry sense of humor; he enjoys jazz, quotes Robert Burns poetry and has a favorite Arabian proverb that performs an active role in this novel: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Often caught in the middle of a skirmish, McKenzie pits bad villains against bad villains in order to survive. He genuinely feels sorrow for murder victims and wishes to avenge them. He truly loves Nina Truhler and her daughter Erica. A former police officer, McKenzie knows how to fight and shoot a weapon; the Beretta seems to be his weapon of choice. Also, he promised his dead father he'd take care of the ducks living on the manmade pond behind his home in Falcon Heights; worried about them, he keeps calling his DNR friend, asking him when they'll leave for the winter.
The wealthiest people aren't always the most intelligent. My favorite part of the novel is McKenzie's discovery of an internet prostitution website known as "My Very First Time." Legal prostitutes, dressed up like little girls, strike various lewd poses on the homepage. Considered a selective, exclusive club, men pay Roberta Weltzin huge fees to have sex with these young girls. This is subject matter that has been ripped from today's headlines. Rep. Anthony Weiner recently joined an ever-growing list of celebrities/politicians who've sent explicit, sexually suggestive material over the internet, which is an uncontrollable means of distributing information. Business conducted over the internet is not sacred; anyone can find out about it.
If you are craving an exciting, shoot-'em-up thrill ride, David Housewright's "Highway 61" is a must read. There are some intense action scenes involving car chases and parking lot shootouts. There are also some gruesome torture deaths but they are described ex post facto, after the fact. As I expressed earlier, "Highway 61" contains all the key ingredients of a great modern noir. This McKenzie mystery series is destined to continue for many years and garner a legion of followers. Fans of vicious noir may also want to read Steve Ulfelder's "Purgatory Chasm," Darryl Wimberley's "Devil's Slew" and Wallace Stroby's "Cold Shot to the Heart."Joseph B. Hoyos
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Collateral Damage (Matt Royal Mystery) Review

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Collateral Damage (Matt Royal Mystery) ReviewTrouble surrounds Matt Royal despite his residence in paradise. It seems that Florida's Longboat Key isn't paradisiacal for everyone. A young man is shot by a sniper while he's walking on the beach near the Hilton, just a day after his wedding. Then a dinner boat runs aground after nearly colliding with Royal's boat. Then the bodies of two more murder victims are discovered, both of whom had been passengers on the dinner boat. When a town resident is killed, it looks like a serial killer has invaded paradise. The killings aren't connected in any obvious way, leaving Royal's friend, Detective J.D. Duncan, without any obvious hope of solving the crimes. Then a former soldier from Royal's past shows up, the father of one of the victims, and Royal joins the search for the elusive killer. Every now and then another death occurs, leaving the reader, like Royal, to puzzle out the connection that links the murders.
Some aspects of the plot are hard to accept. Royal is a retired lawyer. The victim's father wants Royal to start a lawsuit -- against whom, he's not sure -- to help gather information against the murderer of his son. I found it difficult to believe that the police would willingly hand over their investigative file to him; giving open files concerning recent unsolved murders to private lawyers just isn't done. If you can suspend your disbelief in that regard, however, the story that follows is entertaining. It isn't particularly credible but that's standard for a thriller, and it's not much more difficult to believe than some newspaper stories.
The need to suspend disbelief isn't limited to the plot. One of the characters -- a waitress -- is the typical part-time computer hacker; a couple of community college computer courses and she can hack into airline and bank records, not to mention databases maintained by rental car, credit card, and telephone companies. Another character works for a double secret American intelligence agency. Royal's convenient friendships with people who can instantly access any information he needs is good for plot development but not so good for verisimilitude.
The investigation sends Royal down several blind alleys, all in a reasonably effective attempt to keep the reader guessing. An interesting plot twist occurs when Royal begins to wonder whether he can trust the quasi-romantic interest in his life. The solution to the complex puzzle -- the link that binds the murders -- is interesting although I had the feeling I was reading plotlines recycled from other thrillers and mashed together in an attempt to create something new.
Although Royal engages in the occasional episode of hand-to-hand combat, he has a more fully developed personality than the standard tough guy character. Someone during the course of the novel accuses Royal of being a philosopher. He's no Aristotle, but he's capable of subtle thought, a trait often lacking in fictional tough guys. All the characters -- even the minor ones -- are refreshingly intelligent.
H. Terrell Griffin writes vividly, if not originally, about Royal's service as a Green Beret in Vietnam. His writing style in general is fluid, tight, and cliché-free. He blends action and exposition effectively, although the story is a bit exposition-heavy toward the end.
Collateral Damage is the sixth Matt Royal novel but the first I've read. It likely won't be the last.
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The Gentlemen's Hour: A Novel Review

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The Gentlemen's Hour: A Novel ReviewI'm always on the hunt for a new mystery writer and Don Winslow is my latest find. Part of what I think of as the California noir set of writers (James Ellroy, Robert Crais, Charlie Huston, Seth Harwood, etc.) Winslow is probably my new favorite. This is the sequel to "The Dawn Patrol" and probably not the last Boone Daniels novel. Hope not, anyway. It, like many of his other books, is essentially about the dusk of the California Golden Age and the transition into a new California that is better in some ways and worse in others. The phrase that keeps popping up in my mind as I write this is "Surf Western," as this is novel is essentially "Shane" with surf bums, skinheads, lawyers and cops. Great descriptions, memorable characters that seem more than a little plausible, smooth dialogue and plenty of action. The one criticism I would make is that, at times, like any great story teller Mr. Winslow can meander and spend what some would call a little too much time on a tangent (this is especially true of another of his novels, "The Winter of Frankie Machine"). However, the tangents always relate to the story being told in some way and I often found myself wishing to know more about the tangent storyline! That's proof that Winslow is a strong, interesting story teller. If you haven't read "Dawn Patrol," check it out first as you will have a much better grasp of what Boone and the Dawn Patrol are and what they stand for. You'll also have a good grasp of Winslow's idea of the California Golden Age. Highly recommend anything by Winslow (except that "Bobby Z" movie; it's not terrible, but the book is 100% better).
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The Affair: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher) Review

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The Affair: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher) ReviewIf you're a fan of the Jack Reacher series, you already know that Lee Child is currently the undisputed master of the unputdownable thriller. When it comes to narrative momentum and expertly wrought tension, his only rival is the late, great Dick Francis.
However, the last two Reachers - though good - left me a bit cold because I was getting tired of the "Reacher stumbles into small-town corruption" formula. Fortunately, THE AFFAIR flashes back to his army career, where he faces his true arch-nemesis, the military bureaucracy, and we learn why he decided to drop out and become a toothbrush-packing drifter. Even though the novel is mainly set in yet another bleak small town, I'm happy to report that Reacher is back to form. This latest adventure delivers the expected page-turning excitement, plus a few other bonuses:
* Both the beginning and the end are better than usual. Child tends to be too abrupt for my taste. Here he takes the time to set the scene at the Pentagon and ease past the climax in a very satisfying way.
* The love interest, the ex-marine sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux, is Child's most entertaining female character so far. She's not just there to be Reacher's girl. She has an extra dimension and is important to the story.
* The "midnight special" train that roars past Carter Crossing every night is an ingenious device Child uses to ratchet up the suspense, provide a menacing undercurrent, and structure the complicated action in a clear way. It's the most impressive example yet of Child's narrative skill. Plus, choo-choos are just plain cool.
A new reader to the series may find the staccato rhythm of the sentences a bit off-putting at first, and Reacher's tough-guy terseness here and there verging on self-parody. But they're essential ingredients in Child's hugely enjoyable, impressively consistent franchise. Overall, I rank THE AFFAIR with the best of the series, up there with PERSUADER, ONE SHOT, and THE ENEMY.
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