Thursday 16 March 2017

LARRY D. SWEAZY - WHERE I CAN SEE YOU (2017)


Synopsis/blurb……

Haunted by the disappearance of his mother when he was eight years old, detective Hud Matthews begins his own investigation to find out what really happened so many years before. 

When a rare murder occurs in the lakeside community, Hud's veteran skills are called upon to capture the killer. Pulled deep into the threads of the community with ties to the past, Hud quickly becomes a target, not only of the killer, but of those who wish the past to be left alone. 

As Hud gets closer to discovering the truth about the crimes, he has to face a choice of enforcing the law, or stepping outside of it to make sure that his version of justice is served.

I do like small town crime fiction. Another trope to which I’m also partial is the return of a long time absent son to the community where he was raised. Larry D. Sweazy offers both here, so from the outset I was fairly confident I was on to a winner with this book.

Hud Matthews was being raised by his mother and grandmother, when his mother disappeared. The pair never stopped looking for her during the rest of his childhood. Fast forward to the present day, Hud’s grandmother Gee has now passed and after an incident in Detroit – the violent death of one of Hud’s informants at his hands - Hud has left the big city and returned back to his hometown community.

First day on the new job and a body has turned up lakeside, a young woman has been shot. Hud on the local police force, under the watchful eye of Paul Burke, the local police chief and a childhood friend of our main man, is involved from the outset.

Hud is viewed with mistrust and resentment from other members of the small team, as well as encountering difficulties from locals, who remember him as a boy and had a relationship with his mother. One thing you know in a mystery of this type if you tell someone to leave something alone, they’re going to do the exact opposite. Cue more digging.

Small town mystery, an escalating present day series of crimes and the obsession of one man and his past which he can’t escape. The presence of his absent mother looms large on every page.

Great setting, interesting characters, and a riveting mystery – are the present day crimes linked to the past, who can be trusted, who has something to hide? Sweazy is fast turning into one of my favourite authors.

Lots to like here.

4.5 from 5

I’ve previously read two books from this author from his Marjorie Trumaine series – See Also Murder and See Also Deception. Another standalone – A Thousand Falling Crows still awaits.

Larry D. Sweazy has a website here. As well as authoring over a dozen novels he works as an indexer.

Read in February, 2017
Published – 2017
Page count – 254
Source – review copy from Seventh Street Books (cheers to Jake)

Format – ARC paperback

12 comments:

  1. I like the past/present connection in this one, Col. And, like you, the small-town setting really appeals to me. I can see why you enjoyed this one.

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    1. Margot, I think you would enjoy Larry Sweazy's books, great settings and well-developed characters with well thought out mysteries at their heart.

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  2. Small-town stories appeal to me, too. I see from his blog he lives in Indiana. Currently, there are several good crime writers in that state. I must catch up with this author. Thanks for the review.

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    1. Elgin, I think you could do a lot worse than select one of his books to read. I like the past/present connections in the narrative - not quite the same as a dual timeline trope which I also enjoy, but it adds another layer to the story. Small town crime attracts me,not exclusively as I do like my big city books as well......New York and Chicago in particular.

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  3. Sounds fun -- and nice to see it's not a great fat doorstopper!

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    1. Each one from Sweazy has been nice, tight and concise - just how I like them. I've read a fair few from the publisher's catalogue and in truth I can't recall any running over 350 pages, if only everyone else was the same!

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  4. Col, I know Larry D. Sweazy can tell a mean crime and mystery story. I want to read some of those as well as his westerns.

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    1. Prashant, I can't recommend his books highly enough. I think everyone who loves the crime-mystery and Western genre ought to try something by him.

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  5. You know I like the Marjorie Trumaine series (a lot). I plan on reading his other recent fiction too, and at least one western. But you know the problem with too many books in the TBR stacks. Great review, Col.

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    1. Tracy, thanks - I think you would enjoy this book, but yes I agree there's a limit to the amount we can get to despite our best intentions. Hopefully you'll squeeze this one in somewhere!

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  6. I'm another Marjorie fan, and this book would appeal to me too - like you, I like a small town and a returning native...

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    1. Definitely one where we meet and agree Moira.

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