Thursday, March 30, 2017

Review: Where I Can See You by Larry D. Sweazy

Detroit has nothing for him now and Hud Mathews has come home to work for his small hometown police force. It is tough to come back as the area holds so many very painful memories as well as unresolved questions. Some locals are unhappy that Hud is back as it means somebody else is in their way up the ladder of local law enforcement. Some are unhappy because Hud’s return means he will again try to find out why his mother disappeared all those years ago.



Detective Hud Mathews' first case begins three days after he is hired and it is a difficult one. A young woman, shot in the back of the head, is found dead on the shoreline of the local lake. She may have been executed there or dumped after being killed elsewhere. Corner Bill Flowers, who has been around for decades, isn’t sure as he doesn’t see any obvious powder burns at the impact point. The autopsy should tell him more.


According to a local resident who comes forward to talk to the investigators at the crime scene, the deceased woman was a mom to an eight-year-old boy. The boy is missing and the witness is very concerned for obvious reasons. Detective Mathews and Deputy Moran go to the trailer where the family was staying and do not find him there. Detective Hud Mathews has some ideas where the boy is as he grew up in the area and roamed far and wide to avoid stress at home. There is a boy to be found and that comes before the current murder or the case he has never been able to solve--- the disappearance of his mother.


Where I Can See You is a first rate mystery full of complicated characters, dark secrets, and deep emotion. The author has created a diverse cast of complicated and very real characters that are each doing their best to survive their pasts while functioning in the present. As the pages pass, readers are drawn into a dark and complicated cast of folks that are hiding much and yet slowly giving away everything they hold dear.


This is one of those books that is extremely difficult to review without giving away too much. Where I Can See You  is one of those books that really must be read and will surprise you throughout. It works from both a reader standpoint as well as a writer standpoint as there is a very nice storytelling technique used throughout the book that works exceptionally well. Intense and compelling, Where I Can See You is highly recommended. 

For another perspective, check out Lesa Holstine’s review from last January.



Where I Can See You
Larry D. Sweazy
Seventh Street Books
2017
ISBN# 978-1-63388-211-9
Paperback (eBook also available)
255 Pages
$15.95


Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2017

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