Pelham Fell Here
A
Frank Johnson Mystery
Ed
Lynskey
Mundania Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-59426-401-5 (1594264015)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59426-401-6 (9781594264016)
Publication Date: August 2008
List Price: $13.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Ex-military police and part-time gunsmith Frank Johnson
finds his cousin Cody Chapman killed by a twelve-gauge shotgun.
Enraged, Frank wants some answers, and fast. Was Cody involved in an
arms smuggling scheme?
The mystery grows when a pair of murderous deputy sheriffs ambush
Frank. Killing them in self-defense, Frank must take it on the lam
while he continues his investigation.
Eventually he discovers a group of Neo-Nazis, holed up at a remote
castle, who may be behind his cousin's murder. Luckily, a couple of
bounty hunter pals throw in with Frank to even up the odds.
Review:
Ed Lynskey relates the circumstances surrounding the death of Frank
Johnson's cousin, Cody Chapman, in Pelham
Fell Here, the third book in the series but written as a
prequel to the first.
Cody owns a gun shop in western Virginia with Frank, when he's not
doing odd jobs to pick up living expenses, sometimes agreeing to do
some gunsmithing on some of the inventory as needed. They had a more
formal business arrangement once but it didn't work out; instead they
agreed for the sake of familial harmony that it's better they weren't
partners. When Cody is shot dead in the shop, the police find an
obvious suspect in Frank. But Frank has other plans; if the police
won't find his cousin's killer, he will. But he must also at the same
time stay one step ahead of the law who are hot on his trail. The case
gets more complicated when a group of neo-Nazis enter the picture. Is
it possible that his cousin Cody had something to do with them? Maybe
Cody wasn't the hero figure Frank always took him for.
It isn't often when a prequel written later, in this case as
the third book, in the series works. Anyone who has read any of the
earlier books already is familiar with the principal character and knows
something about their relationships to others in their sphere. But in
many ways, Pelham Fell
Here is the best of this series to date. Frank Johnson is
a deeply complex man and as the storyline here takes place before he
becomes a private investigator, there's something personal about his
quest even beyond the fact that a family member has been murdered. He's
looking for something about himself, what makes him who he is. It's a
relatively simple plot but with complicated issues. The action moves
forward at a rapid pace leaving little time for readers to catch their
breath, as it were. In all, it's exceptionally well done.
It isn't necessary to read either of the two books in this series to
appreciate Pelham Fell
Here, but doing so may help in recognizing how good this
book really is.
Special thanks to Mundania Press for providing an ARC of Pelham Fell Here for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
The
Dirt-Brown Derby
Mundania Press (Hardcover), July 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59426-232-2 (1594262322)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59426-232-6 (9781594262326)
The
Blue Cheer
Point Blank Press (Hardcover), May 2007
ISBN-10: 0-8095-5667-7 (0809556677)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8095-5667-0 (9780809556670)
Pelham
Fell Here
Mundania Press (Trade Paperback), August 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59426-401-5 (1594264015)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59426-401-6 (9781594264016)
Omnimystery keywords for Pelham Fell Here ...
Location(s) referenced: Virginia.