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THE BLUE JOURNAL is the first in a new series by the author of the Jordan Sander series. Jeffrey Stephens is writing this new series, starring Lieutenant Anthony Walker, under the pseudonym L. T. Graham. In THE BLUE JOURNAL, we discover that Lt Anthony Walker moved to wealthy Fairfield County, Connecticut, from his job on the NYPD. He made the move to give a better life to his family; however, his wife became enamored of the wealthy lifestyle a cop's salary could not support, and Walker now finds himself divorced, alone, and stuck in the suburbs. Finding that his work life is strikingly less dramatic in Connecticut than it was in the city, Walker is finally able to use some of his skills when a local socialite is found murdered in her bed.
Suddenly, the serene surface of life in the suburbs is revealed to be covering a hotbed of infidelity and disturbance. The murdered woman had been keeping a diary in which she detailed her sexual exploits with virtually every man, and quite a few women, in town. Each of these conquests has his or her own reasons for killing Elizabeth Knoebel, and almost all of them were seeing a local psychologist, Randi Conway, either individually or in group sessions. Walker unofficially teams up with Randi, though Randi has her own demons and occasionally throws Walker off as much as she helps him.
Graham broadcasts the murderer mid-way through the book, enough so that even I picked it up. When I'm reading a mystery, I enjoy thinking about who the culprit is, but I tend not to spend a lot of energy on figuring it out and am often surprised. In this case, I felt a little as I do when I watch an hour-long mystery on TV. At about the 20 minute mark, the killer usually shows up. In THE BLUE JOURNAL, the timeline was different but the concept held. That said, however, knowing (or thinking I knew) who the murderer was did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Both Anthony Walker and Randi Conway are well-realized characters, and their relationship develops convincingly throughout the book. The minor characters are not left under- developed, although their shortcomings are explored in much more depth than their strengths.
Elizabeth Knoebel's diary provides a structure to the book and the character development; however, the language of Elizabeth's entries is always prurient and often offensive. I skimmed the sections where the diary was "reproduced," attempting to pick up what was necessary to the plot without having to read what felt gratuitous. The diary sections help to clarify the kind of person Elizabeth was, providing many of the book's characters with motives for her murder. Nonetheless, I found them difficult to read.
Graham made me care for Anthony Walker during this book, so I look forward to future installments in the series. It will be interesting to see if Randi Conway was a part of Walker's life simply to further the plot of THE BLUE JOURNAL, or if she will continue to play a role.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, January 2015
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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