Review: A Good Kill by John McMahon

A Good Kill by John McMahon marks the return of Detective P. T. Marsh first seen in The Good Detective and The Evil Men Do. Both books made my favorite of the year list. This is a series that must be read in order. This is especially true for A Good Kill as this read ties up some things that have been going on in this entire series.

 

A shooter at a school is very bad news anywhere. The shooter is in Fall Magnet Middle School and that means a full-scale response by the police department of Mason Falls, Georgia. P. T. Mason and his partner, Remy Morgan, arrive on campus to find one gunman holding three students and two teachers hostage. The hostages are being held in the art room.

 

It does not help matters that a teacher is wounded. That teacher needs urgent medical attention. The pressure mounts when Marsh learns that one of the students being held hostage is the thirteen-year-old, Avis Senza. She is the daughter of their boss, Police Chief Dana Senza.

 

The media already knows the gunman is Jed Harrington. Nobody knows why he is in the building with a gun, why he did any of this, and what he wants. His actions do make it clear that he intends to do more harm. He has to be stopped.

 

In the aftermath, it slowly becomes clear the events of that fateful day have links to other events and cases. Including a very personal case that has nearly destroyed Marsh and for good reason.

 

This is one of those really good reads that is nearly impossible to discuss without creating spoilers. A read of the publisher blurb on the hardback makes it clear that the publisher faced the same dilemma. This procedural is complicated in multiple ways, both professionally and personally. Not only are there current cases for the detectives to work, there is the one big case that goes back several years regarding an overall story arc that has been the heart and soul of this complicated series.

 

One could easily think of these three books in the series as a trilogy of sorts. I had come to that conclusion by the time I hit the author note at the end which seems to make clear that the next book from this very talented author will be focused around a new character.

 

The entire series, including A Good Kill, is strongly recommended. 

 

A Good Kill

John McMahon

https://www.johnmcmahonbooks.com/

G. P. Putnam’s Sons

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667288/a-good-kill-by-john-mcmahon/

ISBN# 978-0-593-32836-1

June 2021

Hardback (also available in audio and eBook formats)

384 Pages 

 

Big time thanks to publicist Wiley Saichek who reached out to me recently to offer the book. I had no idea it was coming out until his email. Scott and I are both big fans of this series so getting the offer was and is very cool. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2021