The past has always been a major part of the Kevin Kerney series and is a major piece if not the main theme of
the latest, Residue. A novel that serves to tie up several different story arcs
that have been present most of the series.
As the thirteenth novel in
the series begins, after twenty-eight years of distinguished service Brigadier
General Sara Brannon is finally retiring from the U. S. Army. After her latest
posting as Commandant of the U. S Army Military Police School and commander of
the MP regiment, Sara is finally coming home to Santa Fe and her husband, Kevin
Kerrey, and their son, Patrick. Patrick is already on the way back with his
grandparents. Once the last formal dinner honoring her is done, Sara and Kevin plan
on a few days of fun across the Deep South. The highlight of the trip will be
some time in New Orleans before returning to their ranch outside of Santa Fe,
New Mexico. For the former Santa Fe Police Chief and Sara it is to be a second
honeymoon.
That is until seconds
after a warning call from Clayton’s mother, Isabel Istee, when Kevin Kerney is arrested.
Placed into custody by military police and local sheriff deputies he faces a
charge of murder in the death of Kimberly Ann Ward.
A cold case from 45 years
ago, back in the days of Vietnam, Kimberly Anna Ward was a very special woman
and a major part of Kevin’s Kerney’s life. College lovers, Kerry had gone to
war in Vietnam and come home damaged and self-medicating by way of alcohol.
Ward had her own war at home and eventually reconnected with Kerney. That is
until one night she ran out from the place he was renting and vanished never to
be seen again.
Not only has her body been
found, the probable murder weapon was found near her body. A gun that was Kevin
Kerney’s long ago and one that he had reported missing at the time. Why the gun
he reported missing was found with her is just one of many things he can’t
explain all these years later.
While Kerney’s estranged son, Clayton Istee, a Lieutenant on the
New Mexico State Police force leads an investigation into the past, everything
he turns up seems to indicate Kerney is a killer. Once social media gets ahold
of the case, things get worse for all involved rapidly as the 24 hour news
cycle unleashes a fury that has Kevin Kerney at the center.
Building off of various
plot points and story arcs of previous books, Residue: A Kevin Kerney Novel
is a book that not only ties up the past, it implies a way forward as the
series will again evolve in a new direction While there are a couple of hints
as to what that might be, long time readers know that author Michael McGarrity
always comes up with more than a few surprises in his books. Such was the aim
in Residue:
A Kevin Kerney Novel and the result was a complex and multi-layered
read that was also very good.
Residue: A Kevin Kerney Novel
Michael McGarrity
W. W. Norton &
Company, Inc.
October 2018
ISBN# 978-0-393-63435-8
Hardback (also available
in audio and eBook formats)
377 Pages
25.95
Material supplied by the good people of the Dallas Public Library
System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018
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