People come to the seven o'clock Mass for the same basic reason they come to a private detective. Something has gone missing, and they've run out of places to look.Then I was hooked by these two opening paragraphs. Which I read to my household so they could also see what a great start this book has.
I work at both counters. Have been there for ten years now. Weekday mornings I open St. Joseph's — unlock the doors, light the lamps, lay out the vestments, serve the seven o'clock at Fr. Toner's elbow — then put in an hour on the books of the orphanage out back, and by nine-thirty I'm at a desk over on Detroit Avenue with the other ledger open, skip tracing a man who owes child support in three counties. I used to think the two jobs would fight each other. They never have. They're doing the same job at different pay scales, and only one of them has a pension, and it isn't the one you'd guess.
I was genuinely startled several times as the plot took unexpected twists. The way the book is written invites the reader to do their own thinking, by interpreting a turn of phrase or situation. And that's why I was startled. I got there about the same time as the detective, Brock, on my own. I will say, that for a little while, I was wondering if there was a science fiction angle to the story. It's how I roll — genre mash-up anyone? Not actually, as it turns out, but it was fun to be reading something that could logically veer off in any direction like that. As I say, I hadn't a clue as to where it was going until I was far into the story.
Brock has a background in accounting and he writes his cases down in ledgers so he can see what matches up and where there are holes for a mystery to be investigated. He's also a member of an 800 year old order that is dedicated to caring for widows and orphans, a few of which we see in this book. As he says above, all these things overlap. A few of the mysteries are left open for now, most notably in the area of Brock's personal relationships.
This is D.L. Gray's first novel and it does show a little, but never enough to throw the reader off the track of a very exciting, intriguing story. There are going to be 13 books in the series and I'm really looking forward to reading them all.
As an added note, I was touched by the author's donation of a dollar from each copy to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Cleveland. Each conference for SVdP has it's own personality as they carry out their vocation. In Cleveland they must take care of the homeless. Here in Dallas we pay for rent, utilities and food. But each conference, everywhere around the world, sees the people in need as neighbors who can show us the face of Christ. Vincentians go on home visits so they can meet the people being helped. And this book is about seeing people for who they really are, about not letting your eyes pass over them. It's a lovely application of the SVdP vocation in mystery/thriller form.
