Monday, October 30, 2023

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: She Talks to Angels by James D. F. Hannah


James D. F. Hannah is the author of six books in the Henry Malone series and two other novels, as well as a number of pieces of short fiction. Henry Malone is a retired state trooper and recovering alcoholic eking out an existence in the beautiful but impoverished state of West Virginia. He joins Rush McKenzie, Tom Bethany, Frank Quinn, Matt Scudder, and others in a long line of fictional unofficial and unlicensed private investigators.

In the third Henry Malone, She Talks to Angels (Down & Out Books, 2021) Malone is approached by local resident Katie Dolan, who wants Malone to re-investigate a murder that her brother Eddie confessed to years earlier but now from his jail cell says he didn’t commit. The victim was Meadow Charles, the popular daughter of the wealthiest man in Parker County. She was also a heroin addict; she and Eddie shared a drug habit. Prosecution postulated that Eddie killed Meadow in a drug-induced haze and that he was a danger to society. Eddie’s lawyer convinced him to plead guilty to escape a death sentence.

Malone’s queries don’t get much encouragement from anyone and before long, Meadow’s father calls him in and offers him a large sum of money to drop the probe. Malone needs the money badly enough that he intends to back away but then Meadow’s sister offers Malone more money to investigate. So he continued turning over rocks and asking objectionable questions, discovering a number of unsavory facts about the Charles family and about Parker County politics and arousing the ire of local luminaries along the way.

It’s impossible to talk about West Virginia these days and not talk about the opioid problem there. The issue is pressing and ongoing, and Hannah does not sugarcoat it or the grinding deprivation of the residents who live in one of the most beautiful states in the Union. He draws a sharp contrast between the two.

Malone’s AA sponsor Woody does double duty as Malone’s sidekick on the more active parts of his investigation. Their dialog is the wittiest I have seen in months and give me a reason to look for the rest of the series. Woody and Henry make a fine substitute for Spenser and Hawk. Readers who miss the incomparable Boston duo will want to add this series to their reading lists. A very fine piece of Southern noir. Recommended.


 

·         Publisher: Down & Out Books (May 30, 2021)

·         Language: English

·         Paperback: 282 pages

·         ISBN-10: 164396173X

·         ISBN-13: 978-1643961736

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

 

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