By Radine Trees Nehring
ISBN 978-1-60364-020-6
Wolfmont Press, trade paper
296 pg., May 2010
Here’s a good example, if readers at large still need one, of
a crime novel that fits comfortably into the fine tradition of fiction that
relies on good writing, a fine plot, odd and usual suspects and an interesting
setting. The author relies on a good story rather than tortured or crass
language, logical development rather than constant physical action.
Carrie King a neighborly, bright woman of late middling
years and her husband, Henry King, a retired cop from Kansas City, are making an exploration into Arkansas history with a
trip on a restored train to a small historic community on the shores of the Arkansas River. At the halfway point passengers leave the
train to enjoy a brief sojourn in the town of Van Buren. When Carrie and Henry reach the
river and a large historic mural to study, the possibility of encountering a
dead body of the farthest thing from their minds. But alas, there it is and
then there are the buttons.
A charming and delightful mystery ensues. Nehring’s unerring
ear for dialog and her sense of what constitutes a well rounded character serve
the reader well as the Kings travel between home, Van Buren and Kansas City where Henry
had a solid career as a police officer. There have been allusions in the past
to Henry’s rather abrupt retirement and in a powerful emotional scene at the
Van Buren police station, Carrie and readers will receive serious and deep
insight into Henry’s secret.
In the tradition of traditional American mysteries, A
Journey to Die For is an excellent and satisfying entry.
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