Early Eight: 5a Working Man's Mystery

A decent little murder mystery with a bit of an unusual protagonist. Terry Saltz is a working man who one day made the mistake of getting drunk and high and committing some mayhem that got him sent to jail for a while. When he got out, he started putting his life back together, going on the wagon and getting some jobs as carpenter and part-time bouncer for a local bar and grill. And solving murders on the side. Early Eight is the third murder mystery featuring this particular character, but enough backstory is filled in along the way that it's never an obstacle to getting involved with the characters and following the way the story goes. The mystery itself involves two simultaneous deaths--an attractive but self-centered woman strangled in her car after a pool tournament, and an older real-estate magnate planning to divorce his wife who perishes in a fatal auto accident. Is the accident murder? If so, are they connected? And did Terry's older brother Berk have anything to do with the crimes? As murder mysteries go, this is a fun read. Far too often in literature, "working class" is synonymous with "stupid." It's interesting to see a mystery where working stiffs are portrayed not as rubes but as intelligent people in their own right. The motives, methods, and resolution are believable, and the story was fun.

Slightly edgier, which I liked, than the previous two entries, Terry and his friends are blue collar, realistically written and fun to be among. L.T. Fawkes, actually Margo Dorkson, writes very good descriptions and dialogue. This is a well-done series and a great way to spend a day.

After drinking too much, busting up a bar and hurting some people Terry Saltz went to prison; when he was released he vowed never to take another drink and get his act together. He works at Smitty's Bars and Eats and has a second job as a carpenter. He's friends with his ex-parole officer and shares a double wide trailer with his pal Danny and police officer John Garvey. He and his friends have annoyed Alan Bushell because they have solved some homicide cases. At a pool tournament, Terry notices Gwen Hunter dissing one man while flirting with another. The next day while working on a carpentry assignment, he hears a woman screaming and when he runs over to see what is the matter, he finds Gwen dead in her cart, a piece of yellow rope tied around her neck. The same night that Gwen is killed, Terry's friend Bud is upset because his buddy Ernie was killed in a car accident. Tests prove that he was murdered; Terry and company believe the same person killed both Gwen and Ernie and investigate with Terry's brother as one of the suspects. L.T. Fawkes takes mysteries to a whole different level in large part to his characters who are blue collar working stiffs who hang together and are friends in a way not typically portrayed by writers. What makes Terry and his friends so special is the way they support each other and are not afraid to reveal their emotions to one another. The who-done-it is fascinating because there is no character in this book that the reader would like to be guilty. Harriet Klausner