The Errand Boy

This is not a typical detective novel -- it transcends the genre. Hector is a conflicted man, so driven by a sense of justice, of communitarian integrity, that he seems to struggle with what a choice of what he loves more -- an abstract commitment to what's right, or the real, tangible love he shares with his wife and daughter. It's a moving novel, worth reading more than once. And at least the second time, you may not be tempted to read all night to the end.

Don Bredes is a wonderful writer with a unique talent for sketching his locations and characters so carefully that we see and hear exactly what Hector Bellevance sees and hears; when the author describes a "hot, still Saturday in mid-July" with thunder rumbling in the distance, we're there. Bredes' hero is an ex-cop from the big city, now living back home in Tipton, a small town in northern Vermont, not far from the Canadian border. Hector lives there contentedly as husband, father, farmer, and the town's constable. He knows his neighbors. When his wife, Wilma, is involved in an accident, however, Hector's world begins to fall apart. As Wilma lies in a coma, there is little for him to do but trust in her doctors and get on with life. But his world is no longer the same, and Hector soon finds himself having to unravel secrets that will eventually uncover a murderer among the people he thought he knew. Hector, himself, said it best: "They were locals...people I knew and who probably knew me. In rural communities crime often took on an intimate complexity. Whatever it was about, odds were you knew who, where, when, how, and usually (sooner or later) why. My mother used to say that small town life enhanced a person's understanding of what it means to be human, though seldom for the better." I thoroughly enjoyed THE ERRAND BOY as well as the author's earlier Hector Bellevance books, THE FIFTH SEASON and COLD COMFORT; of course I hope there will be more.

Once again Bredes shows his unique ability to both work within and expand the boundaries of the detective novel genre. Beyond the windings and suspense of its plot, a good detective story is essentially about surface and depth, about what we find hidden beneath the everyday when drastic events force us, or our detective stand-in, to surrender our blindness. It's in this generic necessity that Bredes flexes his talent and ultimately succeeds in a way few have; that is, in Errand Boy, through his vivid prose and fully tangible characters, Bredes plunges with the reader not only into the depths of mystery and suspense but also of human character and emotion. Similarly rich is Bredes's depiction of rural Vermont; not since Chandler's Los Angeles has a detective story's setting felt so alive for me, or so necessary for the story told and the characters involved, as does Bredes's Vermont. While the first two novels in the series certainly delight, it's in The Errand Boy that everything really comes together for Bredes and for the reader, and it's with The Errand Boy that Bredes really cements his role as a truly important contemporary contributor to a rich and long-standing literary tradition.

The Errand Boy is a great read. However, it should come with a warning: GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU UP PAST YOUR BEDTIME! Once Bredes sinks his hooks into you (as I recall, that happens around page 2) it's almost impossible to put this book down. Richly detailed, action packed, with twists and turns to the end. Kudos to Don Bredes for one of the year's best books!

The third Hector Bellevance mystery not only surpasses the two other excellent Bellevance novels, but also manages to transcend the genre. I don't want to dwell on the plot, as I think knowing less about it is worthwhile going in, but suffice it to say that Hector, the tough, vegetable-farming town constable, is now balancing new responsibilities as a father with his responsibilities to his town. Anyone who has read anything by Bredes knows his ability to create interesting characters, and he may have produced his most compelling yet in Myra, Hector's young daughter. Myra is intelligent, head-strong, funny and -- not an easy feat -- utterly believable. Her presence helps to make this novel more character-driven than the first two, in which the twists of the plot occasionally threatened to overwhelm the characters. Here, Bredes has managed to use his characters to drive the story forward, benefiting both the characterization and the plotting. What results is a mystery novel that satisfies as a mystery, but exceeds as an exploration of what it means to be a father, to do good, and to discover and confront one's limits. These are themes often encountered, but rarely have I read anything that manages to balance insight, characterization and storytelling so well. As a follower of the series I want to go back to the first two to revisit Hector's development, but this stands alone as an exemplar of what a mystery novel can be in a talented writer's hands.