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When, on a normal Connecticut morning, a garbage truck backs up into a passing motorcycle, thus killing the rider, everyone believes it's an unfortunate accident. Except for Detectives Benny Vikstrom and Manny Streeter, who have their own unfortunate passive-aggressive relationship to contend with along with the investigation.
That same crime scene will also bring together two groups of criminals–one that set the Harley "accident" in motion and one that's recently come to town to visit new scams upon the town's residents.
Connor Raposo, part of the scam team, is also a witness, one who inadvertently gets linked up to part of the enforcement gang who caused the accident to mete out its own brand of justice. There's just one problem. Their target–Fat Bob–might not have been the one riding the Harley.
If this plot already sounds convoluted, there's more to come. Added into the mix is the delightfully offbeat sense of humor that infuses every scene of this unfolding masterpiece. If the book didn't center around a mystery, it could easily be classified as (absurdist) humor. Stephen Dobyns manages to keep the jokes rolling off the page, even as he keeps all the different elements of the mystery going, like plates spinning atop their wobbly sticks.
The book is populated with quirky characters, each more strange and charming than the last. The author easily crams enough stories into this single novel to compile two or three more books. The love-hate relationship between the detectives alone raises the stakes on the typical police procedural. Readers may even feel they come to understand these weird characters and their motivations, even if they aren't necessarily logical or even "normal."
Whether it's raising funds for smoking beagles, debating the value of karoke, or inspiring former beauty queens to start their own middle-aged self-help groups, there's a laugh in every major criminal twist or turn along the way. For those mystery readers who prefer to see life as a comedy instead of a tragedy, this book is sure to be appealing.
§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, August 2016
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