Jump
Non-series
Tim
Maleeny
Poisoned
Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-574-7 (1590585747)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-574-0 (9781590585740)
Publication Date: June 2009
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): When the most hated landlord in San Francisco takes an
unexpected jump off the roof of his own building, it isn’t
too
hard to find suspects. But the police want to call it a suicide, since
both the Mayor and press are complaining about the dismal closure rate
for homicide investigations. Call it a suicide and no one has to solve
the case.
But ex-cop Sam McGowan knows it was murder. He also knows that anyone
living on the top floor of the building should be a suspect, including
himself. So Sam decides to get to know his neighbors:
A lonely jazz singer more than willing to confess to any crime, past or
present;
Two young women paying for graduate school by operating a website that
reveals a lot more than their SAT scores;
The B-movie producer with a swollen prostate and shrinking bank balance;
And the brothers at the end of the hall, who just quit their day jobs
to sell marijuana for the Mexican mob.
The only thing they have in common is a general agree-ment that their
dead landlord got what he deserved--and that one of them is probably
responsible. As more bodies surface and alliances shift, Sam finds
himself jumping back and forth between his old life as a cop and his
new one as a murder suspect, unable to decide where he really belongs.
Review:
A hated
landlord takes a leap from the top of his 20-story building -- aided or
unaided to be determined -- in Jump,
a most enjoyable summer thriller by Tim Maleeny.
Retired cop Sam McGowan lives on the 20th floor and is the first person
his old partner Danny Rodriguez turns to when he arrives to
investigate. Danny would just as soon label it a suicide and call it a
day. But he feels obligated to look into the case and arm-twists Sam
into making some unofficial inquiries, talk to the neighbors, that sort
of thing. Sam quickly finds out everyone on his floor had a reason to
hate the landlord. Between tales of blackmail, extortion, and attempted
rape, there are no shortage of suspects who would like to have seen the
man dead. But in a strange twist of fate, Sam becomes a target himself
of a Mexican drug lord and he must balance finding out the truth about
his landlord's unfortunate demise and keeping one step ahead of an
assassin.
There are several remarkable aspects to Jump,
from an extraordinary cast of
characters to Maleeny's rapid-fire narrative style to a deftly plotted
story that has a familiar ring to it yet feels uncommonly new.
Sam's neighbors (read suspects) are an eclectic bunch to be sure: a
little old lady with a tongue as sharp as her mind; an aging movie
producer who hasn't had a hit in, well, never; two brothers who make
and deliver sandwiches with a side of weed to corporate offices around
the city; two female roommates who operate a soft-core porn site from
their bedroom to pay for their graduate education; and a mysterious
woman who's a graphic designer by day, jazz singer by night. And, of
course, Sam himself who's torn between his ingrained duty as a cop
(albeit an ex-cop) and how to act as a private citizen. And though
everyone seems to be doing something, if not outright illegal then
acting in a grayish area of the law, these are truly engaging
characters that readers care about.
The plot moves along briskly, switching between character points of
view frequently but always in a fluid manner. It's clever and funny, at
times even poignant. The ending is both anticipated and unexpected, and
puts a refreshing twist on a conventional theme.
Though Jump
is listed as a
stand-alone thriller, it would be a shame not to bring Sam (and maybe
some of his neighbors) back for another go round. It is one of the most
entertaining mysteries to be published this year, and is a perfect
reading companion this summer.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Jump for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Jump? How would you rate it?
Non-series thrillers by this author ...
Jump
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-574-7 (1590585747)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-574-0 (9781590585740)
Omnimystery
keywords for Jump
...
Location(s) referenced: San
Francisco, California.
