The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Tour features J. Mark Bertrand’s debut novel Back on Murder published by Bethany House, a story that will satisfy a variety of readers. At its heart it’s a murder mystery with an antihero by the name of Roland March who used to be a first rate detective in the Houston Police Department until a tragedy the reader’s not immediately privy to interrupted March’s life and career. He once investigated murders, but prior to when the story begins, Detective March has been assigned to other areas including the “suicide cops” detail. He’s managed to alienate most of his colleagues, and they all figure he’s on the way out of police work, and sometimes so does March.
However, there’s a drug squat filled with gang corpses, and somehow Detective Roland March is back on murder. Discovering something at the scene everyone else misses while establishing the way things went down in this multiple killing, March alerts his Captain to the evidence and is commended for his observation. This single piece of evidence and a certain CSI tech drive March into a renewed determination to solve the murders and to figure out exactly what this new element means to another developing scenario.
Simultaneously a pretty church-going teen girl turns up missing and is getting 24/7 news coverage causing the Missing Persons division of HPD excessive media pressure. When March suggests there could be a connection between these two situations and refuses to get along with the younger detective heading up the gang murders, he is taken off that case and added to the missing teen case. While working with the attractive young Detective Theresa Cavallo, a reluctant bond forms as they work together and independently to gain information about both cases.
Add to these cases the personal pain and cynical persona of Detective Roland March and you have the makings of an interesting story which weaves a few eccentric characters into the landscape, an almost confession from a cop who wants immunity, and a youth pastor who’s devastated and blames himself for the disappearance of the teen girl. All of these intersecting plot points give the reader a layered story that follows the leads right along with March.
Written in the first person, Mark establishes the unique character and voice of Detective Roland March with honest admissions, both shameful and honorable, and just enough humanity and humility to keep the reader from judging the man when his bitterness and rage get the best of him.
Anyone who’s followed the blogs of J. Mark Bertrand knows the man’s first novel would be nothing short of well-structured storytelling. They’d know he’d paint pictures with his words to show us people of all types who contribute to the tale and that he’d provide amazing metaphors with clever witticisms and language that conjures up succinct images, both emotional and physical. We would expect nothing less of him because he’s dedicated to his craft. His expressions and interesting sentence formations give the reader the wonderful experience of style and variety, something so refreshing and different from formulaic writing. He also gives us an unlikely hero to cheer on for multiple reasons, and we somehow expect as Detective Roland March gains his old momentum he will triumph in the end.
If there’s a “weakness” in this story—and I certainly wouldn’t call it that—it might be confusing to keep all of the characters straight, but I personally think every single one of them adds both flavor and the element of reality to the discovery and elimination of potential suspects as well as to the life and character of Roland March. One inconsequential point for me is that lately I’ve read a slew of novels which decide to take a long time before they reveal the tragedy behind their protagonist’s persona—usually the excuse for his (or others’) possibly undesirable behavior. This feels like a gimmick to me, and I’d prefer it in the clear sooner rather than later.
Mark chooses to use his peripheral characters to interject a Christian perspective while leaving the tainted March to ponder the reality of God. Concluding the story with both a satisfactory ending and an expected cliffhanger, I for one will welcome the next installment in the Detective Roland March series. Meanwhile, it’s good to know March is Back on Murder.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764206370
Father, please continue to bless Mark with lots of stories and the time to create them. May he honor you in all he does. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
***Give me one good reason for wanting a copy of this book, and it’s yours. Make it a good one. Leave it in the comments. Convince me. You won’t be sorry. Winner will be announced Friday.***