Customer Reviews

Everyone Dies

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This could have been subtitled MURDER CLOSE UP AND PERSONAL. It is the first novel that I have read by Michael McGarrity, and is a tense and succinct story in the police procedural genre whose realism stems from the fact that it is written by a former sheriff who has been there and done that. The detailed descriptions and insightful observations throughout the book clearly ring true because of the author's background and training. Interestingly enough, despite the fact that the story occurs within a very compressed time period, both the level of detail and complications introduced by the subplots made it seem to progress in an orderly fashion rather than the nonstop pace of much of contemporary crime oriented fiction. This and the New Mexico locale clearly are partially responsible for the similarities to Tony Hillerman's books upon which others have commented.

The basic storyline is simplicity itself. A well known local attorney (and friend of Police Chief Kevin Kerney) is gunned down outside his Santa Fe office. There are no witnesses and relatively little evidence, so in the search for a motive the police begin an investigation into both his professional cases and his personal life (he was gay). The investigation turns disastrous when two innocent people die, perhaps as the result of the overzealous pursuit of an apparent suspect who is totally innocent of any involvement in the crime. Then Kerney's horse is viciously destroyed, his pregnant wife threatened, and the discovery of another victim is accompanied by a note that the end result will be that EVERYONE DIES.

This a story in which the tension builds as the book proceeds, both for Kerney and his wife Sara and for the reader. It is like you are watching someone assemble the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but where you know what the picture looks like and he doesn't. This is because the story is written from multiple perspectives, sometimes in the third person but also from the viewpoint of several of the participants including that of the murderer. Thus, the reader gradually understands the motivations behind the acts of violence and eventually learns the identity of the killer, but in a way that heightens the tension. (Remember. this is not a detective story, the mystery for the reader is what will happen, not who did it.)

The book provides an interesting profile of a genuine psychopath and the cleverness involved in his acts. And there are some wonderful philosophical insights as well, my favorite probably was how the investigation led Cruz Tofoya to observe how the ripple effect of murder always seemed to destroy so many lives beyond that of the victims.

While I really enjoyed the book, there are a few reasons why it did not rise to the level of a five star rating. First, the violence was quite graphic in spots, especially with regard to the animals involved. (Although arguably essential to the story, it is not to my taste.) Second, the ending was quite abrupt and one of a few instances near that conclusion that seemed somewhat unrealistic. While, I can't discuss them without revealing more of the plot than what is on the book jacket, it seemed at times the author chose to reach his desired results by having some of the individuals act somewhat out of character. Third, the book would have been improved considerably for me by the simple expedient of including a map of the area. I was reading most of it where a map was not readily available; I am not familiar with New Mexico and while such geographic knowledge was not essential there are numerous references to the various locales and I would have really enjoyed referring to a map on the front overleaf.

One final suggestion is that if you are not familiar with Kevin Kerney, the recurring protagonist of McGarrity's books, you might want to read the previous volume before this book. I wish that I had. In THE BIG GAMBLE, Kerney investigates a case with another lawman, Clayton Istee, a son whose existence his Indian mother had kept secret from Kerney. Since Istee plays a pivotal role in this story (both in terms of the investigation and emotionally for Kerney), the background of that book would have been helpful.

Disclaimer: In the interest of full disclosure, I was furnished a review copy of this book by the publisher based my interest in this genre as evidenced by my previous reviews of similar books. I have no relationship and have never met either the author or anyone employed by the publisher, and furnished no guarantee that I would even submit a review. If anything, in order to prove my objectivity I perhaps presented my criticisms in more detail than they deserve. Nevertheless, people in my business have belatedly learned too much disclosure is preferable to not enough, so this addendum is offered in that spirit.

Tucker Andersen

Having never read Michael McGarrity fiction, I am unable to compare this novel with previous works in what is apparently a series. I actually did not know it was a series until I read it somewhere, so that certainly says something.
I like crime fiction, and the challenge of figuring out "who done it". It's disappointing when it's too easy. That didn't happen here. The story begins with the murder of a prominent gay attorney. There are several angles to be explored, but nothing stands out that makes the victim an obvious target. Our protaganist, Kevin Kerney, is pulled off his vacation to try to solve the crime. He is then yanked smack dab into the middle of the mystery when his beloved horse is killed in a cruel way. It all becomes very personal when a dead rat is delivered to his doorstep along with threats toward his pregnant wife and the rest of his family.
I won't go into the details, you should read them for yourself! There are plot twists, interesting characters, real personalities. The Santa Fe setting is a refreshing departure from the usual gritty New York crime novels. The fact that the author is a former detective adds authenticity.
Now that I know it's a series, I will definitely look for the others and catch up with these characters. Overall, a fine book that I recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery and/or crime fiction.

This excellent series continues with a procedural that needs more of Kerney, and a little less of the spare step by step police investigation.

I had never heard of Michael McGarrity, and found the cover and the plot summary both a bit off-putting, and wasn't expecting to like this book. I was delightfully surprised to discover that unlike many writers in the murder, mayhem and mystery genre, McGarrity didn't slipslide at all into the murky depths of horrifying psychotic evil, gratuitous garbage-language,-sex,-blood,-gore and cruelty, and wallow there for several hundred pages.

He wrote a book about a psychotic killer, yes, but he didn't allow his writing to sink to the level of the killer. It's a very good book with breadth and depth even with a "less-is-more" control over the verbiage, which I like and respect. His story line and characters are engaging. The mystery is compellingly presented. I finished it and rushed to my nearest bookstore to buy all the other Mike McGarrity murder, mayhem and mystery books and have since read them and found them as engaging as Everybody Dies! Keep on writing, Mr. McGarrity!

After about one fourth of the way into this book I began skimming pages and still easily followed the plot. The author has written some fairly decent books but this is not one of them. This book is evidence of formula writing at its worst. The plot is too ambitious with gratitious carnage - cumbersome transition - characters not well developed.

With a book that's part of a series, there's always the question of whether the book makes any sense at all if you haven't been following the series all along. The "Kevin Kerney" series has a back-story (the background contains evolving information about the lives of the characters which has nothing to do with the plot) but each book is also quite readable on its own. The mystery plot is good enough to carry even the new reader along.

Nonetheless, I'd certainly recommend that you read the whole series- they are all interesting. _Serpent Gate_ and _Under the Color of Law_ are especially good, in my opinion. Worth your while to read them.

In _Everyone Dies_, we have a continuation of the backstory of Kevin's son, whom he only recently discovered existed. Kevin gets to know his son better - and to work with him, on this case.

The plot: a gay lawyer gets murdered, right in front of his office. One of the questions: is it because he's gay, or because he's a lawyer, or some other reason the police have no idea of? One small bit of stereotyping I could have lived without: the lawyer's life partner owns an antiques shop. Personally, I would like to see authors stop casting gay characters in antiques and interior decorating. That's a small quibble, however- it doesn't spoil the book.

Besides the gay community in Santa Fe, we also get to deal with the mentally ill community - always a challenge for the police. We have social workers who are sure that their clients are ALWAYS wronged innocents; questions about how well the laws about screening gun purchasers work; and whether police get enough training in how to approach the mentally ill. Where I live, Austin, we've had a couple of incidents in the past couple of years, of a police officer shooting a mentally ill person who turned out to be unarmed. These incidents are still "under review" and nothing much has changed. However, when this happens in the book, Kerney is quickly on the ball about changing his force's policy and vowing to improve training. (Makes one wish reality would learn a few lessons from fiction, sigh.)

The next character murdered seems to have no connection whatsoever with the first murder. More murders follow, and some are accompanied by personal notes to Kerney. Eventually, Kerney and his staff figure out the connection - and then the race is to catch the killer before the trend continues. All of this is made more frantic by the fact that Kerney's wife Sara is extremely pregnant.

In the course of trying to stop this killer, Kerney discovers evidence of another set of murders by a serial killer. There's an interesting twist here - I won't give it away.

This series is slightly different from others set in the Southwest, in that our hero is not a Native American; fans of Tony Hillerman who like those kinds of series specifically because the characters are Native Americans might have been disappointed when they first read one book in this series. However, this book should bring those readers back into the fold, as Kevin's half-Indian son, who is also in law enforcement, becomes one of the more important characters.

A good book in a good series, one I intend to keep reading the moment any new book comes out!

I've been an avid reader of McGarrity's Kevin Kerney police novels since the first, because he is a highly skilled writer, the plots move quickly and smoothly, the characters are quirky and intuitive, Chief Kerney is very empathetic, and the scenic descriptions take me right back to New Mexico state. Despite the provocations of sociopathic killers, Kerney always remains laconic and cool, in control of his emotions and, seemingly, the events. For good or ill in its attractiveness to the reader, the author never ratchets terror high, even when a killer stewed in revenge, as here, intends it.

My total enjoyment of this story had only two blemishes. Midway through, the author mistakenly let us see how the murderer is planting a false trail (rather than let us make that chilling conclusion). Rather than a clever twist in the plot, this view quite took the rising suspense out of the next 50 pages for me. (Perhaps McGarrity should be excused, in view of the subsequent shocking twist he gives to the "false" suspect.) Second, the ending was too rushed, both as a scene and relative to the intricate build up to it. The climax was too vaguely described, leaving me in doubt as to who had their finger on the final trigger. Minor disappointments are that we never do find out all the ways in which the killer got his incredibly detailed info on his targets; and Kerney allows his wife, Sara Brannon, a military policewoman, to insist on committing a great breakdown in discipline, leading to a more dangerous final confrontation.

Thankfully, this is the first time McGarrity has used the plot device--targeting and terrorizing the hero's family--that, repeated, turned me right off of later Cornwall and Patterson mystery series. I'd not like to lose McGarrity, too. The art on recent covers is too generic, urban even, which the horse-loving rancher/policeman Kerney is not at all about; the art should return to New Mexican scenes of the earlier and strongly atmospheric books, please.

Everyone Dies is the newest in a great series, but not the best of the series. We get the continuation of Chief Kerney's relationship with his often absent wife, his recently discovered son and other characters who have grown familiar as the series has developed. There are a lot of violent murders and the gradual introduction to the murderer as he pursues his agenda. It is the good police work and quick analysis of the evidence as the case takes unexpected twists and turns that keeps the reader's attention. It is a exciting, quick read that I would recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery. Skip some of the poorly written "best sellers" that everyone is reading and dig into one of the better written mystery series and you will be rewarded.

I would recommend reading the earlier books in the series first to get the background on these characters. I have been a fan of the series since Tularosa and will continue to read any books by Michael McGarrity since they are well written and take place in areas of the Southwest with which I am very familiar.

Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney is on the hunt for a revenge killer while waiting for the birth of his child. Not everyone dies, but there is a lot of death. Within barely 100 pages, there were already three human deaths and two dead animals. By the end of the book, there were so many deaths past and present that I was immune to it. That's not really a good thing. The book dragged quite a bit. I frequently put it down and really felt no need to get back to it. The narrative seemed disjointed; there was just too much going on. The climax was very anti-climatic. It seemed more like an afterthought to the story. There was a lot of buildup, but not much pay-off. I do like the characters of Kevin Kerney and his wife Sara. There is good character development throughout the series. I have liked the Kevin Kearney series in the past and wanted to like this one, but this just was not as good as the others.

Like the previous entries in this series, Kerney is once again haunted by his past. As he and his wife (Lt.Col Sara Bannon) get ready for the birth of their son, bodies start to pile up all over Santa Fe. Not only dead people, but rats, dogs, cats and Kerney's beloved stallion. This was an interim selection in the series, that was to give us a portrait of Kerney as an absent father and a new father while protecting his home turf.

In the end everyone doesn't die, but a lot of bodies do show up. The 'perp' is a smart ass and we don't find out the reason behind his crimes till the penultimate page in the book. In between we have Kerney playing the steadfast good guy in the white hat, while sharing a first time relationship with his first son (who he didn't know existed for thirty years). All in all it's pretty formulaic and Kerney acts like all TV fathers by getting flustered at the time of birth. McGarrity is usually better than this and doesn't usually go for the easy way out.

Too much of the story is people driving around (or flying around) from here to there with touristy descriptions of the local flora and historical settings. Not his best

Zeb Kantrowitz