Failing a lesson from Writing 101….   ***

William Landay is a good writer.  He brings you into this story and holds you until the end.  Yes, there are more characters to track, but they were necessary.

A small town police chief gets caught up in a murder and finds himself going to the big city to solve the case. A female DA who catches his eye and crooked cops who seem to stymy his investigation.  All somewhat cliche, except Landay keeps you turning the page with anticipation as to how it will all turn out. Isn’t that what a good mystery does?

Yes, until we get to the end.  Without writing a spoiler, let us just say Landay tricks the reader.  This is a first person narrative, and it turns out we have been lied to from the beginning.  Well, maybe not lied to, but deceived. One of the first lessons in writing is do not leave the reader feeling tricked, Landay gets an F on that one.

This book will remind you of Dennis LeHane and Robert Parker, and had the potential of getting a five star review.  Sadly, I give it three.