Review: Entertaining Crime Novel
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 8, 2014
Aberration: mental irregularity or disorder, esp. of a minor nature; lapse from a sound mental state.  From the first page with this definition of the title, I knew this novel would take me for a ride.  And it did for the most part.Jack Contino (which I have to admit is a remarkable name for a protagonist) is the only detective at the Dennis PD in Cape Cod, and he expected it to be a rather easy job given the area’s low crime rate.  Like a typical murder mystery, Jack is called in to investigate the murder of a local black bartender whose throat was slit in his car right in front of the restaurant he works in, and Jack must figure out what happened  Seems very conventional, but then Jack discovers that this murder closely resembles another murder that occurred ten months ago in a nearby town, and that is where this book picks up my interest.It is a great read, as it is purely enjoyable (well, as enjoyable as a murder mystery can get) without being too complex or requiring re-reading to figure things out.  I found it to be very straightforward, but with enough twists and unexpected drama to keep me engaged as a reader.  The main aspect that makes this book stand out from the others in this genre is the high focus on racial tension. This novel realistically portrays a community that still has traces of racism and discrimination. I found these parts to be the most fascinating, as these scenes were high-tempered and full of energy.Author Steve Marini writes a solid crime novel develops the characters through conversations and interview format, slowly revealing more and more about each character.  Very engaging, bits of it are unique, but mostly just a reliable, entertaining murder mystery.