| First
Sentence: It was the time of year when New England wobbles
between fall and winter, as prone to Indian summer as to sudden,
short-lived snow-storms.
Vietnam
vet Ben Kendall suffered from PDST, became a recluse and a
hoarder. Yet, there was one person he let into his world;
a young photographer Rachel, daughter of medical examiner
Beverly Hillstrom and Det. Joe Gunther's lady love. Rachel
has the misfortune to find Ben dead by an apparent accident.
Once it's found to be murder, Joe discovers, through Rachel,
that there are two men firmly determined to find photos Ben
took in Vietnam…and they are willing to kill.
Mayor starts us off with a clever, engrossing, slightly creepy
opening.
It is clear, from the beginning, Joe is a good guy, in the
old-fashioned sense of that word. Major does a very good job
of providing back stories for his characters that are concise;
so as to neither bore fans of the series nor take one out
of the story, yet they provide sufficient introduction to
new readers.
Mayor's sense of place is excellent; "But Joe was a dyed-in-the-wool
new Englander, and had no problem with an environment that
could reach out and kill him half of every year. He felt it
added to the character of the region-and its inhabitants…"
His writer's voice is engaging… "Frank didn't respond.
Neil's verbal patter was like background noise to him by now-not
much different from distant freeway traffic, or the ticking
of a small clock."
Proof Positive is a wonderful read with escalating
suspense, surprise plot twists and a satisfying ending.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Gatekeeper
#14
Chat
#18
Tagman
#22
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