David E. Manuel

This was fun, rather tongue-in-cheek at times, 3.5 . Paladin is a great character, as amoral & opinionated as they come - kind of a Parker ([a:Richard Stark|13634|Richard Stark|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1287877064p2/13634.jpg]) but with a better sense of humor & a different job.

I almost gave this book just 3 stars because it was a bit long-winded, but possibly I'm a bit spoiled by the Leonard & Westlake (Stark) novels I've been reading lately. As the author's first book, it was excellent & I expect the next to be even better.… (altro)

Everybody's favorite civil servant is back - Richard Paladin, EPA assassin. A great story with a lot of intrigue and a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor (I chuckled out loud a few times). The author is really hitting his stride in this second novel in the Paladin series, the story is more complex, the characters more defined, David E. Manuel has succeeded in creating an original character with a distinctive voice. The story has the kind of twists and turns that are vaguely reminiscent of great contemporary crime writers like Elmore Leonard and Donald E. Westlake. It gives the impression of a series that will continue to build and become stronger with each volume.

In The Clean Coal Killers Richard Paladin is called in to investigate a possible terrorist threat to a Pennsylvania power plant. Someone is leaking classified documents and it is Paladin's job to figure out who it is - not really his area of expertise, he's the guy who usually comes in AFTER the leak has been pinpointed to "close" it. The deeper he gets into the whole mess the less he likes it as he is confronted by one oddball character after another, with nobody seeming to be who they say they are until both Paladin and the reader are left wondering if there's anybody involved in this thing at all who ISN'T working for some secret agency of some sort.

This one is completely different than the first yet familiar enough to give the impression of a known character - the kind of easy familiarity of an old, more adventurous friend stopping in to visit and update you on their latest crazy exploits. Paladin is less in your face in this second novel (not that he's mellowed by any means!), a little less acerbic without losing any of his edge. As always, he says the kind of politically incorrect things that have probably crossed through everyone's mind - however fleetingly - at one time or another. The plot is fun with pieces of the puzzle given in small incomplete portions that leave the reader (this reader at any rate) trying to figure out where it's all going before it gets there... I had mixed success.

I've never been exceptionally good at classifying a book into a particular genre, I would place this one firmly in the arena of crime fiction with a healthy dose of dark humor (more wit than comedy) that also serves as a broad satire on the often inept nature of government bureaucracies. There is strong language, some sexual situations as well as some violence that, while not particularly graphic, might tend to offend more sensitive readers. Honestly, if you are a very sensitive reader then you probably shouldn't be reading these novels at all because they really do poke fun at just about every sacred cow imaginable at one point or another.

My only criticism is the final chapter when they did the wrap-up of everything in the story explaining everything so that it was all tidy and laid out in front of you. It fit well within the overall framework of the story but I would have preferred that it was just left as a bit of an enigma for the reader to put together themselves.

I enjoyed this novel very much and I'm actually excited to see where this series goes down the line.… (altro)