Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A Witness Above - Review

I bought the e-book version of A Witness Above after reading an interview on Kindle Author. The setting intrigued me, as well as the mystery, and I wasn't disappointed. I was engaged from page one and recommend it to any mystery fan.

From the promo blurbs: "Thirteen years ago, Frank Pavlicek left the NYPD under less than ideal circumstances. Now, the divorced father of a teenage daughter, he works as a private investigator in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he indulges his passion for falconry&emdash;and tries to live outside the shadow of his past.
"While hunting with his red-tailed hawk, Armistead, Frank finds the gruesome remains of a teenage boy’s body – barely concealed behind a pile of brush...But what Frank finds in the dead boy's wallet is even more disturbing—his daughter’s phone number, scribbled in ink on the edge of a bill. He pockets the evidence and flees. Days later, his daughter is in jail and his past is coming back to haunt him. His reputation--and life--are on the line…"

Andy Straka's protagonist, Frank Pavlicek, is a strong character, with emotional depth and realistic concerns. That Straka got all this out in a first-person presentation credits his writing ability. I often avoid first-person stories, because they're come off a bit vapid. Not here. Word choice and descriptions were vivid, and the action moved well. Although I knew who the perp was right at the beginning, I was interested in seeing how Pavlicek figured it out.

Details about falconry were nice; I always like to learn new things. Straka worked this into the story quite well, right from the title.

A Witness Above was a Best First Novel-Anthony, Shamus, and Agatha Award Nominee.

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