Eight stars
On a great Joseph Flynn binge, this is the second series I have completed with its publications to date. Flynn pens this as a solid police procedural series, with relatable characters and strong plots, sure to keep the reader in the driver’s seat. Flynn delivers another great novel focussed on Ron Ketchum, turning things around little as the protagonist has a new role in Goldstrike, California. The death of a local celebrity has Ketchum and the local police trying to make sense of it. With a recent meteorological event, no one is leaving town, but this does not make the investigation any easier. As the truth about the town and Ketchum’s populace comes to light, no one is free from being considered a potential suspect in the murder. Flynn does well in what appears to be the end (or long-term pause) of the series!
Ron Ketchum has seen a great deal of growth in Goldstrike, California since he was lured here to be its chief of police. Now, having recently been elected its next mayor, Ketchum is getting things in order before taking the reins. When he receives a panicked phone call from his predecessor in the mayor’s office, Clay Steadman, Ketchum accepts that the former movie icon may be in trouble. The content of the discussion includes that Steadman is dying and wants to ask for a few favours from Ketchum before the end.
With a blizzard. raging outside, Mayor-elect Ketchum rushes to Steadman’s home. He’s too late, as Clay Steadman is dead, though not by natural causes. Someone has driven a stake through his heart, the most dramatic of deaths the movie mogul could have scripted. What’s even more troubling is that Steadman’s co-producer on his last film, Marlene Flower Moon, somehow slipped past the police and chose to inhale the air around the body before leaving once more, perhaps on the killer’s trail. This is highly troubling and suspicious, which keeps Ketchum on guard.
When an earthquake jostles the town and leads to a number of avalanches, , Goldstrike is closed down, with no way in our out. Ketchum has a newborn at home and his new wife is out of town, leaving him to play the sole parent role, while this case gains momentum. Another body is found on the outskirts of town, with ties to the movie production, providing a potential connection between the two victims. Working alongside his former partner and the new chief of police, Ron Ketchum tries to find out who might have killed Clay Steadman before the roads open up once more and the killer might be able to slip away. Two murders and a town as uneasy as they come, Mayor-elect Ron Ketchum will have to do all he can while remaining calm. Flynn does well with this piece, which has all the elements for a strong mystery.
After a long reading journey through Joseph Flynn’s stellar Jim McGill political thriller series, this was a great change of pace, with topics and ideas that are just as addictive. Flynn develops this police procedural series with curious elements of mystery. A decent narrative base helps propel the story forward and keeps the reader on the edge of their seats. The story gains momentum as Flynn expands on some of the characters who appeared in past novels, including those from the Jim McGill collection. Great narrative pacing and a thoroughly captivating storyline keep the reader flipping pages, if only to learn a little more. Utilising a technique of longer chapters, Flynn creates vignettes within the larger story to provide. a longer and more detailed reading experience. This is something that I noticed around this same time in the McGill series, which has its usefulness.
Flynn creates a story foundation with key plot points, shaping the larger narrative in an obvious manner. Pairing a core mystery with some well-developed secondary stories, Flynn keeps the reader hungering for more throughout and provides just the right element of surprise to keep the reader wondering. There are some predictable portions of the story, but these are offset with twists that the reader will not have seen coming. I enjoyed this novel and all three in the collection. It is hard to say if there will be more, as Flynn has expanded on some other series he’s penned while leaving this one alone. While Ron Ketchum quickly moved from chief of police to mayor, his presence is not lost on the attentive reader and those who have ventured into other series by the author.
Kudos, Mr. Flynn, for wonderful story development across the board.
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