Christopher Valen

I first stumbled upon mystery novelist, Christopher Valen, when I won my first John Santana Novel. His latest, The Darkness Hunter, is the sixth I have read, and if I am not mistaken, the sixth written. So I think it is fair to say I have read, and own, a complete set to date.DarknessHunter_72dpi-175x263

I loved how this book got started. Kicks off with Homicide Detective John Santana on scene of a murdered young woman. 17 year old Danielle Lonetree was discovered in a shallow grave. The boyfriend, Clay Buck, left his disabled van parked nearby. All the evidence gathered are glaring clues that point directly at Buck. Working the case with Wendell Hudson, his partner things go from simple to complicated fast.

Months later, after Detective Hudson’s retirement, Santana is assigned look into an unsolved cold case. Sam Noor was hired by an environmental group opposed to silica mining. He was murdered. No one was ever arrested for the crime. Santana’s investigation uncovers plenty of leads. Select Sands is the main company buying up land for mining. The benefits will rival natural gas as utility. But there are negative aspects to the mining as well. That was author_photo250wwhat Noor was searching for. If Noor’s snooping turned up anything negative about the company . . . the snooping could have cost him his life.

To make the case more intriguing, Santana’s old partner, Hudson, was the initial investigator. And even more than that, Clay Buck’s sister, Carrie, and uncle, Youngblood, are tied into the mix with the environmental group Noor worked for. Family ties, big money, and past secrets kept me turning pages. I devoured the book in two sittings. Each Santana novel just gets better, and better.

Christopher Valen is where it is at when it comes to police procedural thrillers. The mysteries are complicated, but believable. The characters are well drawn and realistic. The dialogue and action is crisp and intense. I highly recommend The Darkness Hunter and Christopher Valen to anyone looking for a solid mystery novel. I know I will be anxiously awaiting the next installment!

Phillip Tomasso
Author of Damn the Dead and Extinction… (altro)

White Tombs by Christopher Valen is a great new crime novel introducing John Santana, homicide detective for the St. Paul Police Department. Originally from Columbia, Santana is a smooth, tough and somewhat mysterious detective that we slowly get to know better over the course of the book. In White Tombs he becomes embroiled in the investigation of three murders - of three members of St. Paul's close-knit Hispanic community - that are connected. But only Santana suspects what the true connection between them might be.

Santana's investigation, set in the snowy, icy cold of a St. Paul winter, takes on increasing complexity as he digs deeper into the lives of those murdered, and those that knew them. The hard, unforgiving edge of winter complements the solitary path John Santana must take in his investigation, and the cold penetrates the novel even as it surrounds his life. The flavor of Hispanic culture also infuses the book, with the occasional Spanish phrases and detail adding to the authenticity; deftly woven into the story without detracting to the non-Spanish reader.

Christopher Valen's direct prose and detailed description is softened with elegant metaphors that elevate his writing above that of a simple dime detective novel. We also get to know detective Santana slowly, his story unfolding over time, which lends a richness and depth to his character that leaves the reader wanting to know more about him. Many of the characters in the book are the kind that one expects in a crime novel - the beautiful woman suspect, the cop you love to hate, the old flame - but they're described nicely and written in believably, and after all - isn't that why we love crime dramas? Occasionally Valen's writing style is a little too choppy, especially at the beginning of the novel - sentences too short, more detail than necessary slowing the flow of the narrative - but on the whole the style works, and makes it a crisp, believable story. This is a solid start to what could be a terrific series of books. There is plenty to mine in Santana's story for future use, and the Hispanic viewpoint presents a fresh way to approach this genre.… (altro)