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Father And Son (2013)

by John Barlow(Favorite Author)

4.33 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Storm Books

series

LS9

review 1: This is one of nine John Ray crime mystery novels. I like mysteries set in the British Isles, especially when they're authored by a male who's got a Ph.D. in language arts. This author has also been a ghost writer for others with less talent bet whose names are more catchy. Our protagonist is the youngest son of a Spanish immigrant to England, who like many immigrants does what it takes to succeed. Initially that meant dealing in counterfeit purfumes, then forged £20 bank notes. John decided to be the white sheep of the family, breaking away to get a Cambridge degree. His past associations still haunt him, however. His brother's murderer is unapprehended, and his girlfriend who's a career police professional leaves him after she covers for him after he solves... more a crime for the police, where he also switches evidence to protect himself from his only adult criminal indiscretion. Then a series of 3 murders take place, somehow tied to a gang in Leeds, where his father's past becomes an issue. 20 years ago, a 2 week old baby is killed in a terrorist bombing. The plot thickens, as the man who took over his father's criminal enterprise has an employee turn up tortured and very dead. John needs to redemption, so he insists on wading in to investigate. Lots of nifty hard to predict twists and turns, the plot becomes realistic, and the characters are all developed nicely. Hard to put this one down.
review 2: I wanted to give this three and a half stars but since I couldn't, I rounded it up to four.The story is gripping. John Ray is the white sheep of a criminal family. His brother died violently, his former crime lord father is in a nursing home, and John tries hard to stay on the right side of the law. But events always conspire against him.When a man John remembers fondly from childhood, a crony of his now elderly father, is tortured and murdered, John agrees with the others on the scene the cops aren't needed. But the current mobster who took over for John's father, insists John find out who killed the man. Seems he may have blabbed stuff the mobster doesn't want to come to light.John is eventually fingered by the cops and has to run. His ex-girlfriend, a cop banished to another city because of her relationship with him, tries to help. It takes sifting back through his childhood memories and those of his forgetful father to discover the truth. And John's past, without his knowledge, is tied into the reason for the murder.As I said, the story is gripping, with unexpected twists and turns that seem to be the author's trademark. If the editing had been better (things like breaking for braking, point of view shifts that left me confused for a moment, and other editing problems), this would have been a solid four star read. less

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