Joe Perrone, Jr.

I do love crime thrillers…in any form, whether they’re books, movies, or TV shows. I especially like crime thrillers with a recurring main character, e.g. the crime-busting detective/private eye. S/he may be a bad-tempered maverick (à la House), or s/he may be shabbily lovable (à la Colombo): either way, if s/he captivates me, I’ll be sure to read/watch subsequent adventures.

Matt Davies is one such character: he’s dedicated, gets the job done, but he’s compassionate and…well, just an all-round jolly good chap. If ever I was to have to be arrested, I think I’d want it to be by him!

In this novel, Matt has to get to the bottom of the tragic murder of a much-loved and well-respected elderly lady. A slightly confused elderly lady, who finds herself in the wrong place at the very wrong time. It’s a murder that shocks the Roscoe community. It’s senselessness motivates Matt even more to find out who her killer is, but he desperately short of clues and evidence.

Perrone once again pulls off not only combining first and third povs, but present and past tenses. It works brilliantly. The chapters are clearly titled, so you are never in any doubt where you are or who you are ‘with’. Matt’s private life is subtly intertwined with the task at hand (finding out who would murder such a harmless old lady and why) and is what enriches his character: he’s a thoroughly nice bloke.

There’s an interesting little diversion with Roscoe’s community matters: in this instance the opposition to wind farms. As with Twice Bitten by this author, all loose ends are neatly tied up. A thoroughly enjoyable book, and I'm a devoted Matt Davis fan.… (más)

This is a Matt Davis mystery. I believe it’s the third in the series. I haven’t read the preceding two, but that’s not a requirement to understand and enjoy this book. It stands alone very well, thank you!

As you might expect from the cover and the title, snakes are involved, no less their venomous qualities. Don’t let these members of the cast put you off: even the most ophidiophobic of readers won’t get too spooked.

The story starts with the death of a Meth dealer: despite a list of obvious suspects for his murder, things aren’t quite adding up for Matt Davis, chief of police. Ron and Winona Trentweiler are a dysfunctional and somewhat itinerant couple who call themselves ‘preachers’, using the rather dubious practice of snake-handling and drinking strychnine in their ‘sermons’. All to demonstrate that the good Lord will protect those that believe in Him. All a load of tosh, of course, but people will blindly follow what they wish to believe, much to Ron and Winona’s financial advantage… But a string of deaths in their wake comes to the attention of Matt.

I will say that there was a little bit of predictability in this story: I did guess the identity of the murderer not long after the character was introduced, and I did guess the nature of the ending. Notwithstanding, I really enjoyed the book. I enjoyed being beside Matt Davis as he followed up his leads. I rather liked that he wasn’t a single and attractively rough-around-the-edges-from-the-job character. He was middle-aged, genial and caring, and still in love with his wife. A nice, normal man with a penchant for fly fishing. His wife’s brush with cancer was a poignant touch—even fictional characters have not-so-perfect lives.

The story is written in both first person and third person povs. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if it would work: but it did and it worked well. You do have to keep your wits about you just a tad, as the story jumps from time-frame to time-frame. It’s quite a pot-pourri of style ingredients, but this cake comes out of the oven perfectly baked!

Along with the author’s easy-going style, this is a very enjoyable whodunnit.… (más)