Cuts Through Bone
by Alaric Hunt
ISBN:
9781250013309
A 2013 hardcover
release from
Minotaur Books.
308 pages
Littered with jargon and slang
some of which is pretty obscure, the book sucked me in from the first page
because its principal characters are so different and so appealing. Clayton
Guthrie is a little detective. We know that because the writer refers to him
exceedingly frequently as the little detective. Yet, before the tale is told,
he casts a long shadow, based on his years of experience, his basic humanity,
and his understanding of the ways of the unseen world. He hires a young Latina
who is looking for a better path in life. Fresh from high school, possessor of
a quick analytical mind and great good looks, Raquel Vasquez at first finds routine
surveillance boring and the pay isn’t much. Then comes a meaty case.
Afghan veteran Greg Olsen has
been jailed for murdering his fiancé, wealthy Columbia University student and
heiress to a publishing fortune. New York police have enough evidence to go to
trial so they aren’t looking for alternative possibilities. Guthrie thinks
Olsen is probably innocent and we’re off and running, because he knows he has
to find the real killer, not just open questions about the validity of the case
against the veteran
A large portion of the novel
involves the clever use of the denizens of the big city who exist in the
unwashed armpits and smelly crotches of New York. The language feels gritty and
authentic, even though sometimes hard to follow. The plot makes sense, the
characters, as written, belong in their scenes and act logically. Everything
works. It will be interesting to watch this author’s development from this raw
state to succeeding stages.
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