Books One thru Five
Five of five stars
How you know you’re addicted: You receive three books for Christmas. Books One, Two, and Four of a new-to-you series by a new-to-you author. They sit in your living room taunting you over the holidays, but you KNOW in your heart of hearts that you need uninterrupted time to get to know this new sleuth and his creator. So you wait.
Finally, the holidays are over, and you anticipate a couple of blissful days with nothing to do until your self-imposed work schedule starts up again. And you dig in.
I meet Thumps DreadfulWaters after he’s experienced a heart-wrenching, life-changing loss. He’s pulled up stakes, left everything behind, and finds himself – thanks to a mechanical issue with his old Volvo – in a podunk town. But it’s far enough away from everything that he thinks it just may work. And he starts the process of rebuilding a life.
DreadulWaters used to be a cop, a Deputy Sheriff, in fact. Now, he’s a free-lance photographer that sometimes doubles as a forensic photographer for the local Sheriff.
When he’s called in to photograph a dead body found in a not-yet-open resort, he finds himself being dragged into the investigation. There’s more to it. Some things just don’t jive. And despite himself, Thumps is on the case. And that’s where it all starts. With each new discovery, through each new book, King takes Thumps on an inexorable trajectory. First to doing the job that he’s left behind but is still in his soul; and second to what may ultimately lay his demons to rest.
This slightly irreverent, a little bit curmudgeonly character draws the reader in. The other characters in the small town of Chinook tug at the heart-strings while injecting humour too. Because, though all five of these books deal with terrible loss and the seamy side of life, King is adept at inserting humour into his narrative. There are a few outright guffaws throughout this series and many hints of chuckles and smiles.
Remember back when I mentioned that I was anxious to get started? Books One & Two were handily done that first day. Books Four and Three – in that order – kept me busy the next day. And Book Five took up the morning of the third day.
Yes, they are THAT good. And like most of us insatiable readers, when I KNOW there are more volumes that I can read without waiting, I simply go for it. I think you will too.
King is an American who now makes his home in Canada, so appropriately, you can find him on Kobo here:
For Kindle, DreadfulWaters – and others of King’s books – can be found here:
Roxx Is Reading 