You’d be tempted to believe British author Rod Reynolds was American, with five of his six novels set in the US, but he’s actually a Brit with a good feel for Americana. In Shatter Creek, Hampstead County Detective Sergeant Casey Wray returns after Black Reed Bay for a new case. Out in the wealthy Hamptons of Long Island, you might be expecting a peaceful stretch of coastline, but in Rod Reynolds’s novels the outwardly charming communities hide many dark secrets. Police corruption is a hangover from Wray’s last outing, casting a long shadow on the PD as the novel begins.
Responding to a call out, shots fired, Casey and new partner Billy Drocker arrive at the scene outside a gym to discover a male body in front of the building. The victim has no ID but still has a $1000 in his pocket, so this is no robbery. It’s not long before they find the body of a woman around the corner.
The shooter may still be nearby, so there’s a lot of tension and confusion among the public and police alike. Casey picks up very little from the nearest witnesses, who locked themselves inside the gym. The only thing they know is a woman with a baby ran into the building about the time the shots were fired. They are now missing. Witnesses outside ran for cover, no one can identify the shooter.
Reynolds establishes the chaos and panic of a shooting very well as the cops and EMTs try to do their jobs. With no name for the male victim or any idea of the motive – maybe it was a random attack? – this is going to be a tough case to crack. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say there’s a pretty strong motive, albeit a pretty screwed up one.
With the whiff of corruption still in the air, everyone in HCPD has been on tenterhooks and internal investigations are ongoing. Casey’s previous partner was killed in the midst of trying to expose the bad cops, who may have been involved in several missing persons cases. She has been cleared, officially, but things are far from being back to normal. Other officers were suspended and everyone is on edge about whether they’ll get to keep their jobs.
The acting chief of police appoints a new lieutenant called Helen Dunmore. Perhaps Reynolds is a fan of the British writer of the same name. The character he creates is wary of everyone and Casey thinks she’s taken a dislike to her. The politics are never far from anyone’s mind while working this new case.
Reynolds’s writing feels like authentic East Coast crime fiction. His American cops really do seem like a team of stressed out ordinary people trying to do their jobs. The story unfolds at a steady pace and away from the action, in the office, it’s maybe a little slow at times but detailed descriptions paint a vivid picture for readers. We know there has to be something behind this seemingly random act of violence, and there is – which makes Shatter Creek an intriguing and down-to-earth mystery. It’s the feeling of being in the action that elevates large chunks of this story into something special, almost a visceral experience. In the near cinematic action scenes we are with the characters, just as they are in the moment. Dark but not noir.
We’re two novels into this series now, a lot happened but it still feels like we’ve got a way to go to really get under Casey’s skin. I’m here when the next instalment comes along ///the background office tension is still simmering, it’ll need a strong case to keep up.
Also try The Better Sister by Alafair Burke, set in the Hamptons and now a TV series on Prime.
Orenda Books
Print/Kindle/iBook
£6.49
CFL Rating: 4 Stars
