Review: Great progatonist, wonderful read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 1, 2013
Carlos Acuna, the protagonist of Monterey Mischief: Fine Art and Murder, is a straight-forward, direct kind of guy. Retired FBI, a man who doesn't suffer fools gladly. When he moves to the Village, that little town south of Monterey to pursue his love of photography, he has a knack for meeting the right people. Or at least the folks who will help him find a home, connect him to the world of fine art photography, lead him into temptation, and eventually, to solving a murder and investigating fraud allegations.Henry Simpson is a master storyteller and the plot moved along seamlessly, with enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. Mr. Simpson has created a unique protagonist in Carols Acuna, a man with an eye for color and a habit of picking an image out of the background. The writing style, a literary voice that meets hard-boiled crime, just shines. The imagery is encompassing; from Big Sur to the Village to Mexico. After you finish, you'll feel like you just went on a journey to the tropics, attended a series of classes on large-format photography, and engaged in a character study of the rich. It's a wonderful book. I hope there will be another one in this series. While I wait for it, I'll pick up Henry Simpson's Joe Costa series.