JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
Published: May 7, 2024
Rural and Small Town Fiction
Detective Mystery
EXCELLENT DEBUT—A MYSTERY WHERE EMOTIONS AND MURDER MIX
It’s Ethan Brandt’s first day on the job … well, first day as Chief of Police, anyway. He had been a detective until Chief Frank Keogh decided to retire and appoint Brandt as his replacement. While Brandt is fine with the promotion, someone in town is not. It’s why he awakens to finding an animal’s heart and a death threat on his front porch. But in no longer time than it takes to say, “Take these to forensics and see what they can find,” there’s an even bigger catastrophe. A young woman is found dead near the railroad tracks that accommodate the scummy art of drug and human trafficking. Murdered by someone mistaking the victim’s neck for a piece of pie, the knife seems to have cut through several arteries before leaving her to bleed her way to a very premature death. Suddenly, the easy-peasy town of Blaine, Washington isn’t so temperate, especially when the mayor openly questions if perhaps Brandt is the wrong man for the job. It’s a signal for Brandt to step up his game and hit several game-winning home runs all while healing from the pain caused by a total eclipse of the heart.
The above is the premise of Chase Nolan’s A LONESOME PLACE FOR DYING. The mystery is the author’s debut novel, and I’d say he’s done an excellent job in introducing readers to Ethan Brandt, a very introspective, soul-searching type of lead character. He's the type of man that wears his heart on his sleeve while slogging through clues and personalities that more times than not clash with his own. But being “authoritative” is a process and one that must be earned. And so this first stage in the development of his new persona begins here, with a severe reflection on his loves and losses, and whether they are the items he carries with him to the next step up the ladder or the baggage he tosses away. There’s also the very real decision to be made on how he talks, addresses, and behaves. Does he treat others how the “old” version of himself has historically done? Or does he fashion an improved model that can effectively deal with his new responsibilities and put him on an equal footing with others he used to consider superiors? And throughout this search for what is relevant, there is the science of murder.
The intertwining of the two cases is nicely handled. In terms of the murder investigation, his team of detectives does credible work in discovering solid leads as to who the victim is, and why someone might have a motive to kill her, but “might” kill isn’t “did” kill. It’s why the investigation needs to go deeper … into interpersonal relationships that are slowly unwrapped. Meanwhile, Brandt keeps his own finger on the pulse of what is going on in the search for the person who wants him dead. The twists and turns of both cases add to the complexity of the plot and keep us mentally hopping. It's all very psychologically engaging to find out what paths he chooses and opts out of in keeping his head above water while in the midst of diving into his tragically intimate memories. This type of character study is right up my alley. Loved the fleshing out of grudges that may have triggered the death threat and the murder, and thoroughly enjoyed the looking under rocks and in basements to discover who did what to whom and why. The pace is a stalking one that adds tension and gives us time to think.
So if you’re looking for a new mystery to sink your teeth into and a new author to embrace, I recommend A LONESOME PLACE FOR DYING. It’s retro in feel and has enough grit to stay with you for long after the last word is read. Nolan Chase has the chops to stick around awhile, and I look forward to reading more. Five stars from me.
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