Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Ceepak, Doyle, and the twists of the plot
Cons: One plot element not completely explained; foul
language
The Bottom Line:
Look past the language
I love this unlikely pair
Even in debut
A Wild and Crazy Ride
Sea Haven, New
Jersey , is just as wonderful as it sounds. Located on
a small island just off the coast, it is a popular vacation destination with a
huge summer population of tourists. In an attempt to help with the summer
crowds, the local police hire a bunch of summer cops.
This summer, one of them is Danny Boyle. 24 years old, he's
still trying to decide what he wants to be when he grows up. He's partnered
with John Ceepak, a retired military policeman who has just gotten back from Iraq .
The partners are just starting their shift when a girl comes
running down the street covered in blood. She says her dad was shot on the
tilt-a-whirl in the local amusement park. Her father turns out to be
billionaire Reginald Hart. Boyle is in over his head, but Ceepak is right in
his element. With only the girl as witness, they begin to work hard to find the
killer.
Things only get more complicated that night when the girl is
kidnapped. The normal July crowds are dropping fast for fear of the maniac on
the island. Ceepak takes the case personally and follows every lead to track
down the missing girl. Will he be in time?
Every so often, I like to branch out of my cozy sub-genre
and experiment with a little darker book. This was one such experimentation,
and I enjoyed it. The plot in the first half is fairly straight forward, but
the second half begins to take as many twists and turns as the title ride. I
found myself working hard to keep up and loving every minute of it. There is
one fairly major plot point that wasn't explained to my complete satisfaction,
but the story still works.
Despite the fact that Doyle narrates the story, Ceepak is
our main character. It's a classic Holmes/Watson relationship, which works to
keep the audience in the dark and confused until the final pages. Ceepak is
well developed with a background to explain his serious nature. Doyle is a bit
more fun loving and provides some good comic relief with his narration and
occasional spoken quip. Even so, he is able to provide a few puzzle pieces that
ultimate help Ceepak solve the case. Doyle also grows more as a result of the
story. He's not nearly as innocent at the end, but he's definitely stronger for
it.
The most unique aspect of the story is the narration. It is
written is present tense. I can't remember the last novel I read that was
written this way. It took me several chapters to get used to this narrative
style. I'm not sure why the author chose to go this route, but by the end of
the novel I was used to it.
In keeping with the darker tone, there is also significantly
more foul language then I am used to reading. It did bother me in some scenes,
but its something else worth noting in passing.
Ultimate, I am glad I went on the wild ride that is Tilt-a-Whirl. I plan to take
another vacation in Sea Haven really soon.
And you'll definitely want to read the John Ceepak Mysteries in order.
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