Heather’s Bookshelf: The Boys are Back in Town
Author: Karl Kling
Released: 10/27/23
Genre: Cozy mystery/police procedural
“Kristy was right in her assumption that my attendance at the Class of ‘87s soiree was more on account of the death of Gary Hutchins than it was for me to dive head first into the pool of self-pity masked by fond remembrance of days of yore. None of us were where we thought we’d be, and I didn’t want to discuss a time of my life that I’ve longed to forget.”
“The Boys are Back in Town: A Brody James Mystery” introduces Brody James, a retired Navy veteran who has recently returned to his hometown as a local police officer.
Not-so-thrilled about returning to his home town (though happy about getting to see his high school crush: Chloe), Brody is even less enthusiastic about his first case. Gary Hutchins ended up in a car at the bottom of a ravine. The autopsy doesn’t reveal anything suspicious, but he’s not so sure. Now, he if he could only convince his young new partner, Bullock…
Returning to the high school he attended with Gary Hutchins all those years ago, a flood of memories and familiar faces bring the investigation even closer to home. Brody soon finds that Gary’s not his only classmate to succumb to an expected death. About a month prior, Gary’s high school bestie, Rebekah Wertheimer, overdosed. Their deaths leave behind one high school bully: Joseph Agam.
Will Brody and Bullock be able to come together to ask the right questions or will there be more suspicious deaths before the truth is found out?
Trigger Warning: adult language, violence, reference to drug use
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The story is told through Brody’s POV and written as a police procedural. The POV provides insight into Brody’s background, character, desires, and motivations. He’s quite a funny character with a lot of sarcasm and self-doubt, which provides a nice background to build off of as the plot unfolds. Bullock is also a great ancillary character. He’s A LOT and you never quite know what he is going to say, but his immaturity in life only matches his wisdom when dealing with people. The partners complement each other in a way that had me wanting to read the dialogue in between the action parts and pushed the plot forward. Embedded in the story is a bit of a love story, but it more serves to develop the main characters and their background than it does to focus on a specific aspect of romance. Parts of the investigation get a little redundant, slowing the pacing down in parts. But, the ending wraps everything up in a way that made sense, felt complete, and had me hoping for a sequel adventure in the future. Brady and Bullock should not be limited to a single tale.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A Navy veteran returns to his hometown as a police officer and investigates the deaths of two classmates. The banter between two partners highlights this journey until a reveal tying everything together.
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