There’s a weird sort of grieving that happens when you realize that someone you love is really going to die soon. I find myself suspended in a fog of sadness, shock, hope for a miracle, and gratitude for every second I have left. As always I turn to a book to distract me and keep me from sliding out of that fog and into a pit of despair. It has to be the right kind of book – nothing I’ve read before because I need to engage my brain, romance won’t work (too much hope), nothing that will break me emotionally (I am already broken). That leaves a mystery or a sci-fi adventure. This week as I came to grips with letting go of my constant canine companion, I picked up Peter Vonder Haar’s debut novel, Lucky Town. I’m sure this is every author’s dream, writing the book someone reads to be distracted from grief. Sorry author of this book.
Cy Clarke and his twin sister Charlie are private detectives in a family of former military. When their older brother, a federal agent, disappears and is implicated in the death of a fellow agent, Cy and Charlie charge into action. With Charlie’s hacking skills and Cy’s pissing people off skills, SPOILER they never actually find their brother. SPOILER ENDS What they do find is a lot of Houston traffic and a bunch of attempts on their lives. Cy lives comfortably in the tradition of the wise cracking private dick who gets beat up a lot. It was a good read and a promising debut. I’m looking forward to seeing where Vonder Haar takes his characters.