Book Review: Memorial Day

Reviewed By: Carol - SLC - RAM

Memorial Day     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Harry Shannon
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth
Five Star, May 2004, 266 pgs, $25.95 (hc)

Mick Callahan is a down-but-not-out recovering alcoholic who in the past had been a very successful television "shrink" until one day his cavalier attitude was responsible for the brutal death of a young woman who desperately needed his help. As a guest DJ on the Loner McDowell show over the Memorial Day weekend in his home town of Dry Wells, Nevada, Mick Callahan finds himself on the receiving end of a troubling phone call. After all he has been through, Mick is not about to let this new plea for help go unanswered.

To complicate matters, while out for an evening run Mick comes across a trussed body, the fingertips of which have been cut off, and which appears to have been the victim of a mob hit. Sheriff Glen Bass, who knew Mick when he was a youngster, asks Mick to keep his mouth shut and to leave town at his earliest convenience. From then on, bodies start piling up with dizzying frequency, and Mick must get to the bottom of whatever frightened Sandy Palmer if he is going to save his own life and get out of Dry Wells in one piece.

The tension is palpable and the action intense throughout. While I'm skeptical that any human being could actually survive the numerous vicious physical attacks suffered by Mick Callahan and others, the rest of this superb book makes up for this small lapse. All in all, an exciting read.

Carol - SLC - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carol - SLC - RAM