Colin Conway

The Path of Progress by Colin Conway
A 509 Crime Story

Police procedural set in the 509 area code – Spokane specifically – that was well crafted and fit together piece by piece reminding me of some tricky puzzles I worked on recently.

What I liked:
* Leya Navarro: Property Crimes detective for six months, happily married with two little girls, dedicated, intelligent, doesn’t really want a male partner to “help” find the burglar(s)
* Damien Truscott: detective that was in SVU for two years and moved back to Property Crimes, much gossip about why he moved, happily married with teenage sons, movie buff, a nice balance to Leya
* Andrew Parker: homicide detective, happily married, father of three little girls, body builder, enjoys being a detective but not the hours away from his family
* The police procedural aspect of the story that started with burglaries, moved to the homeless as targets for crime in the area, then on to a murder, and the way all of the pieces found by the detectives came together to solve more than one case on the books
* The glimpse at politics in the workplace and beyond to city and state
* The way family was important to the main characters as were their personal beliefs and back stories – we are all products of what has come before in our lives
* That I felt invested in the story and the characters and wanted to see how it would end
* That there were no real loose ends EXCEPT wondering why Damien Truscott chose to leave the SVU and go back to Property Crimes…maybe that will come out in a future book in the series along with whether or not Andrew Parker will find a way to move on to something he might enjoy more

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about the homeless and if there is a solution that might work…
* Having to leave the various characters and not knowing what their futures hold in store for them

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC – this is my honest review.

4-5 Stars… (altro)

The Night of the Dead Boys by Colin Conway
A 509 Crime Story #12

Another wonderful addition to a superb series ~ Couldn’t put it down ~ Highly recommend!

What I liked:
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing – drew me in and wouldn’t let me go
* Knowing Tremaine was cold and ruthless but still being able to root for him to make it through the night alive
* Seeing how the various members of the police force and those supporting them worked together to try to solve one situation after another throughout a stormy turned deadly night
* That though there were many characters to sort out, they all had specific personalities and after a while it was easy to keep them straight
* Getting to see how Cutler was doing and having him in this book for a while – wish he would get a break at some point in a future book
* The potential romances that could crop up for one or more character in the story
* The police procedural aspects
* Wondering whether or not the loss of so many lives was worth it in the long run
* Thinking about what might happen next in this series – There is more than one character I would like to see again in a future book

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about gangs, gang violence, and how difficult it would be to be in a gang but also to be someone trying to close eliminate gangs and make the streets safe

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars… (altro)

Owen Hunter is the new owner of Rockafellers, a vintage record store struggling to find customers. He is determined to be the number one used-music store on the boardwalk -- even if that means stepping on a few toes. But when a murder occurs shortly after his arrival, he's identified as prime suspect number one. Owen is a man with a secret that he must protect at all costs. The U.S. government has invested a lot to keep him safe, but his enemies will stop at nothing to find him.

Owen is trying to be a better man but he won’t let anyone hassle him either and this causes him some trouble. I mostly liked Owen and there were many humorous moments throughout the story. Light and easy to read, I would try another in this series.… (altro)

(2.5 / 5)

I haven't read any of the preceding books in the series, but events from them were brought up in this book a few times. Belmont (not really his name) was the bookkeeper in a gang and reluctantly became a witness against them, and now he's force to move from place to place, job to job, to keep ahead of the danger. While it seems that previous identities were compromised and required relocation, this one had an expiration date—Christmas. Yet he does end up under suspicion for ongoing criminal activity, which also seems to be a theme in the series.

From start to finish, this is a fairly straightforward story with a protagonist who could be interesting, but feels like a caricature. He learned to enjoy reading, specifically mystery novels, in the first book in the series, and while I have nothing against a hardened gang member becoming a reader, it somehow felt forced to me. I could see what the author was trying to do in showing changes in this man who had been forced into situations and lifestyles he never would have chosen for himself, but for me, at least, it didn't work very well.

I also think the overall story could have done with another round or two of edits. Maybe some dialog read out loud, some actions acted out. Characters were all the time touching each others arms and sleeves while talking, which I'm not sure is natural. And a lot of people in the story tended to act out what they were saying with their hands, again not necessarily common. While both of these things could have been a trait assigned to one character, having them be so widespread was odd. It also seems really important to the author that I know what everyone is wearing. It's generally the first thing we're told whenever anyone new is in a scene. There's a woman who comes onto Ed so strongly it made me uncomfortable, and imagine if the roles were reversed and it was a man trying to convince a woman to let him touch her (sit on her lap, because, well, she is Santa, after all). It would be considered creepy, and he'd be labeled a perv, not just a humorous device to make the MC all the more annoyed at his lot in life.

The mystery wasn't bad, but wasn't super interesting or difficult to solve. There was a small twist regarding the various crimes that had been committed, and it did give Ed a chance to grow more in the story. I think with some refining, this could be a good book and a series I'd be interested in. It is a mostly clean book, with almost no profanity and nothing else that would bother me, minus the aforementioned woman trying to force herself onto Santa. While I don't plan to read any other stories about Beauregard Smith (Ed's real name), plenty of others have enjoyed it more than I did. If you're interested, be sure to check out other reviews at the link below.… (altro)