Review: Shannon Does It Again
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 29, 2011
Running Cold is the fourth full length outing for Harry Shannon's celebrity psychiatrist turned ??? hero.This time Mick gets mixed up with fellow recovering alcoholic and gambling addict Calvin.  At first, this just seems like a simple case of paying off the bad guys.  However, when Calvin is found shot dead hitman style in his own home, it is soon clear that there is more to this case than meets the eye.  To say much more about the plot would ruin it for the reader but suffice to say, there are spills, thrills, twists and turns to keep even the most jaded of crime reader happy.The crime/adventure genre is rather a packed one so why should you give this book any of your time?  I'm sure, from the above synopsis, you're thinking "I've heard it all before..." .  Yes, the basic themes of the novel are commonplace but it's the execution of the narrative and the depth of the characters that set this novel apart from the vast majority of the genre.Harry Shannon has created a protagonist in Mick Callahan that is fully rounded who, even though he is flawed, still manages to maintain an aura of likeability.  The writing is tight and fluid, which keeps the story moving forward and there is never a point at which the narrative gets bogged down with superfluous descriptions.  It really has the feel of an old master, a modern take on the dime store paperbacks of a bygone era.As stated earlier, this is the fourth Mick Callahan novel.  I would recommend reading the earlier three first which can be purchased in one edition for the remarkable price of $3.40  Not because you have to in order to enjoy this novel, but because failure to do so will result in you missing out on three fantastic reads.