Not one of his best, but an entertaining read ( )

Thank you to Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press and NetGalley for their ARC.

Not sure where to go on this one given that the mystery/case itself was intriguing and the main characters were fun to follow. However, the plot felt jumbled at times and seemed to be going in too many directions at once. Solid crime novel overall, just need to suspend belief with many of the developments throughout that keep the story going. 3.5 stars ( )

I love his Jane Whitefield series and grabbed this stand alone book from the library! Boy, Thomas Perry can write! I had to keep putting this book down to catch my breath! Harry Duncan is an ex-cop known for his unorthodox methods. The US Attorney for the midwest calls him for help checking into a crime spree in a small town. He's reluctant to get involved but the attorney is his ex-wife and he can't say no. ( )

Thomas Perry’s Harry Duncan is clever, creative, good with weapons and very lucky. He persisted through the book to go after the gangsters and uncover who was behind all the shenanigans.
Shout out to the Cornell Ornithologists who helped determine why all the property on the Ash River was being bought up. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home ( )

Reacher-Vibes
Review of the Highbridge Audio edition (January 17, 2023) narrated by Peter Berkrot and released simultaneously with the Mysterious Press hardcover.

A drifter arrives at a small town and is soon involved with a local ally in a fight against a mysterious criminal conspiracy which threatens the survival of the town and its inhabitants. The drifter may have to resort to methods and means which are outside of the legal system. Their superior instinct and combat and investigative skills will aid them in overcoming what would otherwise appear to be overwhelming odds.

Does that sound like the plot of most Reacher novels? Even though Murder Book does not strictly adhere to that plot line, it is enormously similar. Ex-cop, now private investigator, Harry Duncan is asked by his ex-wife, now U.S. Attorney Ellen Leicester, to investigate a possible growing criminal organization in a small town in Indiana. Arriving at the town, Duncan is very quickly embroiled in an altercation with three tough guys at a local bar. He manages to easily outwit them. He tries to make an alliance with the bar owner who is initially suspicious of his intentions. Gradually, further criminals begin to appear in the town and Duncan is forced to overcome their forces in order to discover the secrets and the masterminds behind the invasion.

There is of course nothing wrong with having a protagonist in the Red Harvest / Shane / Yojimbo / Man with No Name tradition. It has been used successfully many times in the past and will be so again. The protagonist needs to feel distinctive though. They have to have some personality quirks and perhaps some self-deprecatory humour in order to win over their audience which would otherwise find an apparently superhuman-like character to be unrealistic and unbelievable. These could be things such as a toothbrush being their only 'luggage' and second hand stores their only source of clothing (to give examples from the Reacher canon).

Harry Duncan comes across as fairly bland though. He is certainly fearless and persistent and you cheer him along in his quest. But that spark which ignites a character into life was missing for me. A 3 rating is really only a measure against Thomas Perry's other writing. He is a consistently excellent thriller and suspense writer and I think most fans of the genre will give this a 4 or 5 rating.

The narration by Peter Berkrot was adequate, but also without any sparks to make it outstanding.

Other Reviews
A Book Spy Review, The Real Book Spy, February 3, 2023.
Top Drawer Thrills, Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2022.

Trivia and Links
Thomas Perry is interviewed about Murder Book at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore YouTube channel which you can watch here.

Thomas Perry was interviewed in 2019 by his alma mater, the University of Rochester, and discusses his literary idol (William Faulkner) and the origins of his Butcher’s Boy and Jane Whitefield characters. You can read the interview at Master of Suspense, from January 18, 2019. ( )