Carpenter Road by N.M.Brown. "Hookers aren't real people-at least not to the customers, the cops, or the public. Working on the streets is a bit like being a ghost." This is the second in the series to feature Officer Leighton Jones (Jonesy). "The Girl on the Bus" was Brown's debut novel. However, the events in Carpenter Road take place ten years before his first novel. Set in southern California in October on an unusually cold and foggy evening. The first murder takes place in the prologue with more to follow. Jones,49, was a traffic cop at odds with his boss Gretsch, a ruthless, hard-hearted guy. His secret ambition was to work on Homicide and solve murders. He had cracked the Pembleton case with the Blanchette kid on the farm. Everyone else seemed to have given up but it nearly cost Jones his job. He was excellent at treading on people's toes and having showdowns with not only his captain but Slater and Goza officially Homicide but incompetent judging by the crimes unsolved or the wrong people arrested. They are territorial. Bad news for Jones. What would they do without Jones poking his nose in and creating tension? His partner ( a sleeping partner in this case) Danny Clark, lacked Jones' experience but he has his fair share of personal problems checking in on his father who has been hospitalised. Vigils take place during work hours but Jones covers for him until troublemakers tell tales to the boss and he is fired. Jones is suspended but does it stop him? Of course not. The first murder was probably one of mistaken identity. If the girl, Sarah Kline hadn't swapped coats with Rochelle, a street girl who was in the street outside the restaurant when Sarah wondered out to have a smoke she might have survived. Subsequent victims were prostitutes. Brown paints a bleak picture of alcohol, drugs and physical and sexual abuse. Rochelle deserves our sympathies and we are allowed to get to know her. Jones becomes very protective towards her when he knows she's at risk, just like the other girls. Jones meets feisty Rochelle after an altercation at Rollins Stock Cars. She recognises the car that almost mowed her down with her coat inside and sprays the owner with pepper. Our first link to murder number one! The murderer is introduced from the beginning. He tells us his first murder was a crime of passion, full of anger and revenge whereas his next one was purer. A psycho and a dangerous man. How is Jones going to catch him acting as a "lone-wolf-cop?" An interesting read and once you think you know the identity of the murderer there's a nasty little twist! Look out for Jonesy, he's certainly got guts. Publisher: Bloodhound Books. ISBN: 978-1-912604-39-5.
REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.