Thursday, May 29, 2014

Snatched! - Charles Boeckman


Over the past year or so I've become a big fan of the work of Charles Boeckman and even published a volume of hisWestern pulp stories (which if you're a Western fan and haven't read it yet, you should because they're really good). He's still a working novelist in his nineties and turning out top-notch work. His latest mystery novel is SNATCHED!, published by Pro Se Press, and it's the sort of suspenseful, fast-moving yarn I've come to expect from Boeckman.

Set on the Texas Gulf Coast, SNATCHED! is a classic private eye novel about detectives Kate McHaney and Craig Dawson, formerly married, now divorced, but still business partners. They're hired to find the kidnapped daughter of the mayor of the town where they live, a case that leads to multiple murders, shootouts (like many a Western hero, Craig Dawson is a two-gun man and doesn't hesitate to start blazing away, as that fine cover demonstrates), organized crime, and even an ambush by a World War I bi-plane.

This is a thoroughly entertaining novel that moves very swiftly through its complex plot. Kate and Craig are likable protagonists, and Boeckman does a fine job with the refreshingly different setting. If you're a mystery fan, this one is well worth reading.


1 comment:

Neil A. Waring said...

Have not read anything by Mr. Boeckman but you have convinced me to give him a try.