Review: "The Good Cop" by Brad Parks

The death of a police officer is always a tragedy. The fact that it is being described as a suicide and then wouldn’t be covered in any depth by the Newark Eagle- Examiner is something that reporter Carter Ross does not know when he goes off to interview the widow. Noemi Kipps is a formidable woman who thought that the happy family would soon be going to Disney World. Instead, she has to plan the funeral of her husband and somehow raise their 7 year old daughter and 5 month old son alone.

Police Officer Darius Kipps was an outstanding police officer, a devoted father, and a class act human being.  There was absolutely no reason for him the Sargent and Detective to commit suicide. According to his fellow officers that is exactly what he did in the bathroom at a precinct in Newark. It is something both the widow and, as he learns more, reporter Carter Ross can’t believe or accept.

The series that began so strongly with Faces Of The Gone continues here in another complex and interesting read. The Good Cop is the fourth novel in the series by award winning author Brad Parks. Flashes of humor and cynicism do not get in the way of a complex story involving the search for truth and justice amidst the shifting agendas of politicians, religious figures and others. As always in this series, the role of reporters and newspapers play a major role in the book, as do the evolution of relationships between Carter Ross and others in a business where getting the story correct and in detail should matter far more than getting it first.

While The Good Cop could be read as a stand-alone, those who have not read the series and take the time to do so before reading this book will appreciate this book far more than those who just grab this one. Fans of Cater Ross and his creator Brad Parks will find much to enjoy in this latest installment of a very good series.

The Good Cop

Brad Parks

http://www.bradparks.com

Minotaur Books (St. Martin’s Publishing Group)

http://www.minotaurbooks.com

2013

ISBN# 978-1-250-00552-6

Hardback (also available as an audio book and an e-book)

324 Pages

$24.99

Material Supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013

My review of  FACES OF THE GONE can be found here. 

Review: "THE GIRL NEXT DOOR" by Brad Parks

Despite the steadily worsening situation for newspapers across the country as well as at his own, Reporter Carter Ross still has a job at a Newark Eagle–Examiner. While the newspaper maybe having serious fiscal issues, the obituary pages are still one thing the bosses have not surrendered in the face of declining circulation and revenues. It was while he was reading the obits that Reporter Carter Ross come across the notice about the death of 42 year old Nancy B. Marino.

Single and hardworking, Nancy not only was a volunteer she held down two jobs with one of them being a carrier for Newark Eagle–Examiner. Reporter Ross knows the carriers who actually deliver the daily newspaper are the lifeblood of the paper. There is enough there in her obit to make him wonder who she was and why she died.  It sticks with him and he decides the deceased needs a follow-up piece of some sort. That leads him to attend her visitation where at least some in her family think there is a lot more to the story than a simple accidental hit-and-run. They aren’t alone in that feeling.

Told primarily from the viewpoint of Carter Ross, with the occasional and totally unnecessary switch to the viewpoint of the narcissistic killer, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR moves forward at a fairly steady pace. Full of Carter Ross battling increasing odds in his quest for the truth, the mystery contains plenty of action, adventure and misdirection as well as observations regarding the newspaper industry.  As always in this series that is not aimed at mystery readers who want the books serious and dark, there is plenty of humor. Some of it is in your face and some of it is subtle with the result there are plenty of laughs throughout the book.

This is the third in the series that began with Faces of the Gone followed by Eyes of the Innocent and is another solidly good one as Reporter Carter Ross continues to wisecrack at will while trying to find out the truth about what happened to Nancy Marino. Like any series it would be best to read them in order, but if you can’t, you can safely here as previous events are only briefly mentioned in the barest of terms.

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

Brad Parks

http://www.bradparks.com

Minotaur Books (St. Martins Publishing Group)

http://www.minotaurbooks.com

2012

ISBN#978-0-312-66768-9

Hardback

326 Pages

$24.99

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

By the way Lesa Holstine has much on her blog today at http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/   about Brad Parks and his recent appearances out in Arizona. Covers his books, the writing process, the state of newspapers today and lots of other stuff including many pictures. Well worth checking out!
 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012