Charlie Hood is finally back on the border after mounting that harrowing rescue mission in the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula, the LASD deputy still assigned to the ATF's Buenavista, California, office. The hostage he snatched free, Erin McKenna, is hugely pregnant and living at his adobe near the border. Erin's husband, super-dirty deputy Bradley Jones, makes the occasional visit Erin is righteously pissed at him after being kidnapped by a rival cartel. It's a complicated situation…
That's the home front: at work, Charlie's infiltrating a trio from Missouri (two of them dirty cops) who've arrived in town with a truck full of weapons they've diverted from a seize-and-destroy program; tipped off by the gutsy Mary Kate. On the opposite side of town, a mysterious "Dr. Strenn" has a sit-down with bipolar drifter Lonnie Rovanna, who's currently off his meds, apparently to return his confiscated firearms - or at the least to give Lonnie one of the infamous Love 32s. Lonnie, it's a safe bet, is about to make trouble for Hood, not to mention a passel of innocent bystanders; trouble that will reach not only into local hospitals but all the way to Congress. Mike Finnegan is in town, but this time Charlie may have an Angel on his side: I kid you not…
| In the conclusion (maybe) to his Charlie Hood series (Iron River, The Jaguar, L. A. Outlaws), T. Jefferson Parker manages to let The Famous and the Dead tie off a few loose ends while others are left dangling. What started out as a quintessential crime-novel joust between Hood and Bradley's mother Suzanne (gorgeous, intelligent and a little crazy), morphed over this six-book series into something more supernatural. By the final reel, Hood finds himself not only up against everyday criminals and an occasional cartel sicario, he's also in the middle of the eternal war between Good and Evil: and yes, the capital letters are appropriate. |
The introduction of Mike Finnegan character, a supernatural being apparently allied with "The Prince" (the "of Darkness" part always left unspoken) seemed at first simply a nod to the dominance of supernatural themes in some modern crime fiction. By the time The Border Lords, book four of the series, rolled around, Finnegan had become a major character; wreaking havoc wherever possible, and apparently Charlie is on his list. After a lesser role in The Jaguar, the minor demon? dark angel? is back; and Charlie Hood is exactly the sort of good guy he targets.
In a writing career spanning some thirty years and twenty novels, T. Jefferson Parker has collected many a well-deserved accolade; among them being the only author with three Edgars on his mantle. This reader has been a devoted Parker fan since first finding a library copy of Laguna Heat in about 1985, not having missed a single book from an author who belongs up there with the likes of Burke, Connelly and Hall. I must admit, though, that the prominence of the supernatural element in the Hood series began as puzzling and ultimately became irritating. If The Famous and the Dead is the end of the Hood series, so be it.
Tom, I'm looking forward to seeing you again. But do me a favor and leave Mike Finnegan out of it next time, OK?
No comments:
Post a Comment