Slow Kill (Kevin Kerney)

In the ninth novel in the Kevin Kerney series, Michael McGarrity stretches his writing ability along with the patience and stamina of his protagonist. Kevin Kerney, one of America's favorite cops, is a suspect in a homicide and the investigator who has Kerney in her sights is not one to let go easily. But is it even a homicide? There are no marks on the body, no obvious signs of a struggle, but the deceased didn't just die all by himself, did he? Then, there is that younger wife to consider. Could she and Kerney have conspired to kill the aging husband for his money and his land? Would Kerney's wife be happy about the whole thing? And what is all this about a secondary mystery that goes all the way back to the Vietnam War? McGarrity weaves a dense and devious plot, but the path of discovery is well worth the time it takes.

With his military wife and their new baby off at her duty station at the Pentagon, Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney takes some time off and goes to California to look at some horses. A friend and Kerney are going into business together and they need several quarter horses to serve as breeding stock. Kerney on arrival in California checks out the situation and goes to bed. The next morning he quickly becomes the number one suspect. Kerney, by luck of the draw, is the first one to find the recently deceased Clifford Spalding. His wife, now a widow, happens to live in Santa Fe and is about Kerney's age. Like Kerney and his wife, Spaulding and his spent a lot of time apart. Those facts, as well as several other coincidences make Kerney a suspect as far as local law enforcement is concerned and Kerney has no choice but to investigate to clear his name. In so doing, he uncovers clues to a separate case stretching back thirty years to the last days of the Vietnam War. As always, Kerney is a hands on investigator set in his ways and he manages to annoy quite a few folks in his search for the truth. But he knows only one way to do things and as such, this latest novel in the series, is another riveting read. This series features complex real characters that the reader quickly comes to care about. That fact, the obvious appreciation for the beauty of New Mexico and other parts, along with the complex mysteries and plenty of action, make every novel in this series just a bit better than the last. This latest effort is no exception and well worth your time. Book Facts: Slow Kill: A Kevin Kerney Novel By Michael McGarrity www.michaelmcgarrity.net Dutton www.penguin.com 2004 ISBN # 0-525-94799-X Hardback 278 Pages $23.95 US $35.00 Canada This review previously appeared online at The Blue Iris Journal Blog. Kevin R. Tipple © 2005

I got my copy of this one autographed at the Texas Book Festival in October 2004. We are lucky to have authors of this caliber come here. McGarrity is one of those authors whom I'll buy in hardcover, rather than waiting for the paperback. As other reviews have mentioned the plot summary already, I'll bypass most of that, and instead mention some of the specific details I found particularly interesting in this book of the series. First, we don't see any of Kearney's older son, also a policeman, whom we have met in several previous books. In this one, Kearney's younger son - the 10-month old one living near the Pentagon, along with Kearney's career army wife, Sara - gets a bit of the spotlight. The unusual marriage between Kevin and Sara gets strained some, but also becomes solider as a result of the strains - Kevin resists some flirtation by some of the women he meets in the course of the book. Several seemingly unrelated plot threads come together, as parts of Kearney's investigation turn out to be things that Sara is professionally interested in. She is doing an interesting report on some sexual harassment cases that the army is trying to sweep under the rug. Sara's anger at the attempt to ignore the problem is balanced by her later glee at the opportunity to call attention to it from another direction entirely. The main plot thread revolves around a young man who supposedly died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam 30 years before. Or did he? Right now, anything that recalls Vietnam has some resonance for many of us, and the characters involved in this part of the plot include everything from hippies on communes to rich men who buy their kids' way out of the war. The book doesn't take a current political stance - thank goodness - but it does give a reader a chance to think about issues that are still important today. You can tell, pretty much as soon as we meet the crazy old lady, that she is not, in fact, crazy - it's not a spoiler to tell you that much. The dead man's current wife, on the other hand, is a little more psychopathic than she seems at first. And when we meet the people to whom the pharmacist has been selling drugs, it's a nice contrast between the old hippies, supposedly all stoned, and the rich people who are currently stoned. I like the irony here. That should be enough teasers to make you want to read the book fairly soon. Let me say, though, that if you haven't read ANY of the previous books in the series, you will be best off if you find copies and read them, before starting this book. A full appreciation of what's going on in the plot depends, in part, on knowing our characters' backgrounds.

Seattle has J.P. Beaumont, Boston has Spenser, and Santa Fe has Kevin Kerney. SLOW KILL by Michael McGarrity is the latest in this excellent series and is sure to attract new readers who appreciate a story's ambiance as well as its characters and plot. New Mexico, Land of Enchantment, plays an important role without ever crowding the pages of this fast-paced novel. SLOW KILL begins with Kerney, Santa Fe Police Chief, making a trip to California to buy quarter horses. He finds some prime stock at the posh horse ranch, but before he can close the deal he finds himself a suspect in the death of a wealthy rancher. While the aging Clifford Spalding had some medical problems, his sudden death was both unexpected and suspicious. Before learning that Kerney is a cop, San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department Sergeant Lowrey makes some giant leaps to connect Kerney to the dead man but soon gains respect and admiration for our hero. In the process of seeking to prove his innocence, Kerney uncovers a parallel mystery that eventually ties into the original homicide. There's a lot cooking here with more ingredients than a French recipe, but McGarrity's no-nonsense style makes it easy to follow and hard to put down. In addition to the murder mystery, Kerney keeps gnawing away at the mystery surrounding the death of the victim's son that occurred thirty years ago in Vietnam. Spalding's first wife, now known as Crazy Alice, has refused to accept her son's death, claiming to have seen him at various times through the years. Is there a connection between the death of the father and that of the son? Could the son still be alive? With the help of his own expert team, Chief Kerney follows the clues to several exciting conclusions --- some suspected, others totally unexpected. McGarrity writes with the insight and understanding of an ex-cop; he has witnessed crimes, taken endless notes and written thorough reports. While lacking none of the familiarity with police procedures found in works by Joseph Waumbaugh, McGarrity thankfully leaves out much of the more graphic and profane elements that are often gratuitous and distracting. SLOW KILL is the ninth book in his Kevin Kerney series and is sure to inspire new readers to go back and enjoy the others, beginning with TULAROSA. --- Reviewed by Maggie Harding, a substance abuse counselor in Phoenix, AZ who wanted to be Brenda Starr before life intervened. She also reviews for www.womenonwriting.com. To contact Maggie, e-mail [email protected].

Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney flies to Bakersfield, California so that he can buy quarter horse breeding stock at the Double J Ranch near Paso Robles. When fellow guest septuagenarian Clifford Spalding is found dead, San Luis Opiso Sheriff's Department Sergeant Elena Lowery finds it interesting that the victim and the visiting cop have ranches in the Santa Fe area. She believes this is an unlikely coincidence especially when one considers that Clifford's much younger spouse Claudia, could easily know and ride horses on a New Mexico range with Kevin. Other questionable items also surface. Knowing he is a person of interest and seeing the path the official investigation is going, Kevin makes inquiries into the history of the victim and learns that Clifford's first wife Alice believes that their son did not die in Vietnam three decades ago. Kevin believes her and wonders why the son was hidden from his mother. He seeks a link between then and now. Elena concludes Kevin is innocent; they join ranks as both suspect the current wife and someone else, a local cop most likely, tampered with the victim's medicine, but to prove homicide will be difficult. The latest Kerney police procedural refreshingly takes him out of New Mexico (and not just California as he also goes east on this investigation), makes Kevin a suspect, and has the less experienced Lowery lead the inquiries. The story line is fast-paced as the current case points towards murder and a tie in to events from thirty years ago. Fans also see Kerney prepare for retirement (hopefully not for a dozen or so more books) as he buys his first breeding stock. Michael McGarrity will receive accolades for this brisk investigative tale. Harriet Klausner