I have read other books by author Kevin Hopson and the one thing I take from his books is the way he can develop a character. This is especially true in his Crossover Sequel to “The Landfill”, the book Pursuing the Dead.
The book opens with a prologue that has the reader, taking part in a phone conversation between two men. The reader learns that one of these men is named, Loredo, and the other his boss. As you read you’ll learn that Loredo is a cleaner of types as he has taken care of a situation that involved some form of a runaway. You do not learn who/what they may have been just that they are “taken care of” as well as the families.
The whole prologue is a bit concerning as you can tell that something has gone wrong, somewhere, and some of those involved met with “interesting” fates. They could have been deadly or required some form of reasoning to stay quiet on what happened. I realize Pursining the Dead is a short story/book so I do not want to give to much away as the prologue will make sense much later within the read.
As I mentioned author Kevin Hopson has a way to create a character that you can find yourself believing and maybe even invested in. He does this ever well in Pursing the Dead as he introduces the reader to a pair of Private Investigators. They are one ex-police officer Jacob Schmidt and his partner, Dinah Peterson. Dinah also having some background in police work having worked in a crime lab.
The other key participant in this story is Connor Reid. He just happens to be a younger man of twenty-three, who was able to plan well for his future and has some money but needs the pairs help. The story will take off when Connor asks for them to investigate a murder. In truth, it’s a cold case that has been out there for five years. It is found a bit later as the story progresses and things get strange as the last bit of information I’m sharing on this story is this. As Jacob and Dinah fly through the air, first-class thanks to Connor, they discuss the cold case. It is here that an important part comes up, that the DNA of a deceased family member was found on two victims.
Now, I do not want to get too far into the plot as Pursing the Dead is on the shorter side. If I go into much more detail I may give things away, and I do not wish to do that for readers. I will say that I do like a well-developed mystery. This is surely one of those books, and at times I was thinking of other great fictional private investigators. I had characters like Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), Kinsey Millhone (Sue Grafton), Philip Marlowe (Raymond Chandler) and of course Mike Hammer (Mikey Spillane).
I am sure I may be one of the few to draw all of those comparisons but it was something I found myself doing. This shows that Kevin Hopson’s book Pursing the Dead will relate to fans of a good mystery. It will also relate to those who enjoy great written characters, and just a great fictional tale.
If you are one of those who enjoys a visual, be sure to check the book promo below.
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