Can Jackson Handle Returning to Work?
So far, I’ve only read Liz Milliron’s historical Homefront Mysteries. That’s not from lack of interest; I just have too many books calling my name. But since she is starting a new series, The Jackson Davis Mysteries, I jumped at the chance to read Shattered Sight.
When we meet Jackson, it is his first day back as a homicide detective for the Niagara Falls police department. He’s been on desk duty for six months after an accident blinded his last partner. Now’s he’s saddled with a new partner, Rodney, who just got promoted to detective, and everyone is watching to see if he’s really ready to handle the job again.
Their first case out of the gate is a dozy. A woman’s body is found at the bottom of the falls. Jackson and Rodney must try to figure out if it was murder, suicide, or accident. Complicating matters are all the people in the victim’s life who have motive and different theories on what happened. Can Jackson figure it out? Or will the pressure get to him?
In case it wasn’t obvious, Jackson’s mental health is a strong subplot in this book. I’ll admit, there were times his behavior was a bit stressful for me, which means the writing was excellent. It did help that we got his thoughts on everything since the book is told in first person. It allowed me to see that he was aware of the issues. Ultimately, I was satisfied with where this storyline ended.
Since this is the first book in the series, we are meeting all the characters for the first time. We got to know some of them better than others, but there are hints of deeper characters in what we do see for them. On the whole, I liked the cast and I’m looking forward to getting to know them better.
Since this is a police procedural, the line between series regulars and suspects is much clearer than it can be in the first book in a cozy series. The suspects we met here were interesting and kept me guessing.
As did the mystery itself. I loved how the clues and red herrings kept pointing in different directions, confusing Jackson, and us, until we reached the end.
Since this is a police procedural, there’s more content than in the cozies. There are really only a few scenes that might be issues and they are fairly obvious when they are coming. Personally, I found the book worth it.
I’m still hoping to get to Liz’s other contemporary series this year. But I’m already looking forward to revisiting these characters in the future. Shattered Sight is a strong debut.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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