Spiked: An Eddie Bourque Mystery

A fantastic ride. The city of Lowell comes to live in this superlative novel from Mark Arsenault. A guaranteed great read with plenty of action, humor and mystery. The character development was strong. The book was laugh out loud funny. And the mystery remained a mystery in the end. He's an automatic buy for me now on.

Getting thrown in a Massachusetts canal after chasing a Cambodian woman with red mittens to a slum triple-decker that explodes in fire helps to clarify priorities for small-time-newspaper Lowell Empire reporter Eddie Bourque. Somehow, chasing down politicians fighting to rule a dying industrial town, fretting over your ex getting married, being reminded by a TV rival that you've taken a step down in your career, and having to deal with an officious editor pale in comparison to discovering the truth behind the death of your competitor, who could have been your friend if you weren't busy watching the byline. An interesting commentary on professional ego especially in the wake of the New York Times and CBS scandals. When Eddie's fellow reporter Danny Nowlin is found in the local canal, it's only a matter of time before Eddie's refusal to let sleeping dogs lie lands him in the same canal. It also introduces him to two "Trainspotting"-like junkies, Leo and Gabrielle, who rescue him and remind him why he became a reporter. Unfortunately, the officious Franklin Keyes "spikes" the story Eddie lands, when he's not busy burying any coverage of Danny Nowlin's death and other stories that might cause voters to lose faith in the incumbents for the upcoming city elections. The Lowell Empire has a vested interest in keeping the status quo. Did someone say media bias? Arsenault's Eddie emerges as a muckraker, scorning the scribes and Pharisees in favor of the Cambodian warrior woman and survivor of the Khmer Rouge Chanthay, Leo and Gabrielle, and two New York City hit men assigned to kill Chanthay and Eddie. A great expose a la "Network."

Mr. Arsenault brings an enticing blend of memorable characters, witty humor and a well-crafted plot. I thought I had the mystery solved more than once only to find myself lured deeper into the tale as unsuspectd twists in the book kept me guessing as to the killer. An enjoyable mystery that will keep you turning the pages till the surprise ending.

You won't find many books like this among those from first-time mystery writers. Arsenault's use of language, humor and description is first-rate, as are the tightly interlocking story strands he weaves into a plot. A fun mystery I gobbled up in a single rainy weekend.

How outstanding to find a new author producing characters with depth, intertwined in an intricate plot that's easy to follow. The aging mill city of Lowell, Mass. comes to life here as a character in the story; like the people, the city is complex and nothing is ever as it first seems. Throw in some danger, some laugh-out-loud humor and a hero a reader can get behind, and I was hooked. I look forward to Mr. Arsenault's next book.