Running Out of Road (Buck Schatz)

by Daniel Friedman

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Running Out of Road is the third Buck Schatz mystery by Daniel Friedman. Released 24th March by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 288 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This was the first book in the series for me and I was blown away. Main character Buck is almost 90, irascible, plagued with physical problems and losing his mental acuity after nearly half a century of being a sharp, feared, pragmatic detective in the Memphis Police Dept. The writing is simply top notch; the characterizations are incredibly adept, the dialogue is so well written and rings true. The author is a gifted wordsmith. He manages to keep the technical aspects of the disparate time lines clearly delineated and easy to follow despite there being changes in scene, flashbacks to different occurrences over several decades and all of these are interwoven with a fictive NPR radio broadcast transcript. Technically, the writing is simply flawless. The author has such a sure hand with the narrative. I really felt for the characters (almost in spite of myself).

There is quite a lot of discussion of the ethics of the death penalty in the USA which is relevant to the plotline and which was simultaneously enlightening and sad. There are also some graphic descriptions of the actual execution process and physiological responses which might be distressing or traumatic for some readers.

Despite the heavy plot elements, there are genuinely funny and warmly humorous moments. I will absolutely seek out the other books in the series. The author is a fine writer.

Five stars. It's really that well written.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.