Hardcover, 322 pages
Publisher: Five Star, July 17, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1-59414-781-4
$25.99
Reviewed by Larry W. Chavis
In 1965 and 1966, the actor Chuck Connors played a character named Jason McCord, an ex-army officer, court-martialed and cashiered after his unit was massacred and only he lived. He was, as the theme song went, “Branded – scorned as the one who ran.”
Marcus Rydell, formerly of the Atlanta P. D. is also branded and scorned. Four years ago he, his partner, and two uniformed officers served a warrant on an ex-Marine, a professional hunter and guide named Iden Cantu. Cantu slaughtered all the officers except Rydell, who inexplicably–and unbelievably, to his fellow officers–suffered a blackout. Just as unaccountably, Cantu left Marcus Rydell the sole survivor when he was easy prey. Rydell’s career as a police officer did not survive. Four years later, adrift with purposelessness, having lost wife, family, reputation, and honor, he is about to eat his gun when a young girl in trouble and a pretty young doctor on a mission pull him back from the brink. Together, Rydell and Dr. Kat Holley plunge into a hunt for a brutal killer who quickly turns the tables and makes them the prey, with high stakes and high suspense the order of the day.
Dead On presents characters who respond authentically to the grim situations they face, not always logically or to the best end. These characters are first, people, so they don’t always act in the best interests of themselves or their purpose. The reader is taken into their minds as they face a truly remorseless and capable foe, and sees them struggling to focus and control the high levels of fear and apprehension. We see them rise above, but we also see them deal with the consequences of failure as well. The one thing that might be picked out as a flaw, if one is looking for a flaw, is that the dialog, particularly between Rydell and Kat, is sometimes a bit off-the-wall for their situation. But again, real people deal with stress in all sorts of ways, and following a stray thought far afield or engaging in a bit of banter in moments of high anxiety is not unusual. Mr. Walker has produced a story of real people in the worst situation and the way he brings them through it is very satisfying.
Copyright ©2009 Larry W. Chavis
#1 by Rob Walker at May 27th, 2009
Larry - much, much thanks for the great review; the book went through quite an evolution and growth, I can tell you as Five Star has excellent editorial input, but it began with a phone call and a request from every mystery writer’s best friend Ed Gorman to whom the book is dedicated. Loved the review and if Kat and Marcus come back in another book, I will do all I can to keep those two kids from yammering about goofy stuff while facing down death at the same time! I had a lot of Moonlighting in mind when I crafted Dead On, but I take your point about the dialogue. So glad you loved the book as a whole. We Mississippi types gotta stick together.