When the body of Maggie McFarland, an 86-year old widow, is found
among the rubble of the once-famous, landmark Artemis Hotel leveled
by fire nearly seventy years ago, residents of Roscoe are shocked.
However, it is not the location where Maggie is found, but rather
the manner of her demise, that has everyone puzzled. For it isn't a
heart attack that has felled her; nor has she suffered a stroke, or
taken a fatal fall from a porch. Her life has not ended that
peacefully. Maggie has been killed by a bullet to the heart, fired
from a pistol at close range. Who would possibly want to kill this
kind, gentle woman, known throughout the area as one of the best
trout fly tiers within a hundred miles of the famed Beaverkill
River? That is the mystery that confronts Matt Davis in Broken
Promises, one of the most baffling cases of his career. EDITORIAL
REVIEW: "If ever a mystery novel could turn this reader into a fly
fisherman, "Broken Promises" by Joe Perrone Jr. would do it. This
is Joe Perrone Jr.'s fourth novel set in small town Roscoe, N.Y. (a
real place fictionalized without being mythologized), and his
sleuth is Chief of Police Matt Davis, an avid fisherman who solves
crimes when he'd rather be on the river. This is my first foray
into the world of Matt Davis (and won't be my last) and serious
trout fishing. Perrone's expertise as a professional fly-fishing
guide in the Catskill Mountains lends authenticity to the skill and
the art of fishing and to the appreciation of the fishermen who
practice it. (Yes, all those fishing in this book were men.) His
leisurely style complements the laid-back nature of Matt Davis, a
careful and meticulous cop. He follows all the possible
strings/clues of a death that might be a murder without any readily
visible reason for such an elderly woman to be in such an abandoned
burned-out hotel site in the first place. Perrone's narrative
style, pleasant though it is and clear though it is, might take
some getting used to. The novel shifts from the present day to the
days of World War II (1944). From the first-person voice of Matt as
he deals with the death of a woman with no enemies and, at 86,
mostly a life in the past (and in the past tense), it shifts to the
present tense with the action of young factory workers of more than
50 years ago. Never mind: It's done with the smoothness of a
well-balanced seesaw.The story carries the reader along, and the
past explains the present as much as the past can. The characters
who deserve sympathy get it, and those who don't, get some empathy
for a crime gone awry, then and now. Fast paced it is not, but
"Broken Promises" arrives at a conclusion both sad and satisfying -
and that's life, that's realism. In Roscoe, crime is not high-speed
car chases, crazed mobsters, mutilating madmen - and crimes are
solved by dint of perseverance, compassion, shrewd common sense.
And I welcomed the setting, the pacing, the detecting by a police
chief who does his job, even if he'd rather be fishing." - Celia
Miles, for the Hendersonville, NC Times-News
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
The Matt Davis Mystery, 4 |
Release date: |
August 2013 |
First published: |
August 2013 |
Authors: |
Joe Perrone
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 19mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
330 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4909-7217-6 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Crime & mystery >
General
Promotions
|
LSN: |
1-4909-7217-X |
Barcode: |
9781490972176 |
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