Review: More gritty urban adventure than satisfying suspense
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 1, 2013
There is much to admire in "Darkest Hours." Detroit private eye Joe Hooks is charismatic, cautious, and caring--sort of an African American Spenser (only with a gun-toting secretary named Trish, added for individuality). Hooks's partner, Kool-Aid, is the story's more massive injection of anti-heroic machismo. The villains are a dubious diversity of races and nationalities--nice departures from overused Arab or Russian stereotypes. And the action is a mix of tense threats and street smart stratagems, not just gunfights and careeening car and aerial chases.So why only 3 stars for this DK Gaston outing?"Darkest Hours's" subplot (Joe's recovery from his divorce) drains a lot of sustained suspense from the story. The original premise--solving a billionaire's murder and deciphering his mysterious last words--is promising. And inserting Joe's ex Nina early-on would seem to help with the red herring count. But continual scenes and flashbacks of the couple trying to patch things together are distracting and belong in a separate story. Joe's preoccupation with his nixed nuptuials also makes it difficult to consistently follow the clues of the case. Kool-Aid said it best: "[Nina] belongs to somene else. Let that man take care of her." Joe can't; so, the mystery aspect of the novel becomes a hit-or-miss proposition--mostly, miss."Darkest Hours" is more of a gritty urban adventure than a mystery or suspense story. Author Gaston's re-imagined action, wit, and romance will please fans of the genre. However, serious armchair sleuths will struggle to find a sustained, satisfying mystery worth solving.