Bump and Run: A Wade Durham Novel by Richard Helms is the first book in a
new series. Wade “The Blade” Durham, part time stock car driver, is also a full-time
agent for the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). He has just finished a race
and is settled in to eat his victory steak when the boss calls with a case.
Choctaw,
North Carolina, is dying small town. The population is dwindling and so is the
local economy. It is the same story that is playing out across the country. The
place will be gone in a couple of years unless something is done to save it.
Industry isn’t the answer so the town leadership and other parties are all in
on the tourism angle. The multimillion-dollar plan is to make a major area of
the local mountain a ski resort in order to save the place.
Not
everybody is onboard with the idea. Leading the charge against the project is home
town hero and to some, villain, Winlock Savage. An aging former NFL QB who
spent far more years in the broadcast booth after his playing days were over, has
used his wealth to file a lawsuit to stop the project. Just as surely as he
puts it to various women in his bed, he means to put it to those who are supporting
the project.
It
would be best for many people if he, at the very least, withdrew the lawsuit. He
could go away and that would even be better. Especially if he quietly went away
permanent like.
That
has now happened.
Either
he was killed or he committed suicide by hanging himself like a hog in the
legendary local smokehouse. Either way, he has been smoked.
It
probably wasn’t a suicide.
State
Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Malik Mourning, wants Wade “The
Blade” Durham in Choctaw pronto and working a case that is going to gain
national attention. The local police are not equipped to handle such a case and
need the help. The local police chief, Navarro, has only been on the job about
a year and is more than willing to have the SBI send somebody to work this kind
of high-profile case. Or any high-profile case, for that matter, as they have
not had a murder in forty years and the pandemic killed the last detective. The
position remains unfilled.
Durham
hits town, visits the smokehouse scene, talks to the locals, annoys some and
amuses others, and basically starts poking under all the rocks. Those rocks lead
to a case from 1977 and a ton of folks doing all sorts of shady stuff. The list
of potential suspects is long. Winlock Savage was a large former NFL athlete
and kept himself in shape. He did not commit suicide and then hang himself on a
meat hook to get smoked. The man was murdered. Putting a man of his size on the
hook in the smokehouse to hang like a butchered hog probably took more than one
person.
What
follows is a highly entertaining novel. Very reminiscent of the Virgil
Flowers series by John Sandford, you have the same sort of main
character here, albeit with less colorful language. Same attitude about fools
that get in the way and a willingness to push authority aside to get the job
done. Like Virgil Flowers, Wade Durham gets sent in to clean up messes. Unorthodox,
he also might be their best agent. He gets in, finds the responsible parties,
and moves on to the next messy situation the boss sends his way.
This
is going to be one heck of a series.
Bump and Run: A Wade Durham Novel is a fast-moving novel that has
a few laughs and a lot of action. Strongly Recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41XK72L
My
digital reading copy came directly from the author with no expectation of a
review. But, truth be told, as soon as Mr. Helms mentioned that he was doing
his version of a Virgil Flowers novel, he had me hooked like a fat
bass on the line.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
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