Half the Truth [Hardcover]

David J. Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

Someone is after a talented but troubled college athlete named Jason Cooper, and Chicago P.I. Mal Foley must figure out who before his estranged wife and Jason's sister are killed.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In his Edgar-nominated first mystery novel, Fixed in His Folly, former priest and lawyer Walker introduced us to Chicago private eye Malachy Foley -- a sensitive, jolly guy who rides a lovely old BMW motorcycle and has a part-time job playing jazz piano in a bar. For his second appearance, Foley takes on a serious touch of sadness: his relationship with the woman he loves -- his ex-wife -- seems to be rapidly falling apart. Meanwhile, another beautiful woman enlists Foley's help in finding her brother, a talented young basketball player being menaced for reasons nobody can understand. Mal's most interesting side is his vulnerability: "I remembered one night, coming home from a camping trip in the Rockies, driving just this side of panic through a raging, endless snowstorm across the state of Nebraska. I was alone, except for Seth Green and a friend of his, both sleeping peacefully in the backseat. I wanted to holler at them, 'Wake up, damn it! Help me see where I'm going! Be scared with me!' But they were eight years old, and I just kept driving."

From Publishers Weekly

Chicago PI Malachy Foley is often too cute for comfort, what with his BMW motorcycle and his titled landlady and his part-time job playing jazz piano in a bar. While many series writers can make their atmospheric touches work effectively for many books, Walker comes close to wearing out this series' distinguishing marks in only the second entry (following last year's Edgar nominee Fixed in His Folly). On the other hand, his prose is lively, and Foley, with a mouth as quick as his hands, has some interesting edges. Here, Foley is hired by the sister of Jason Cooper, a talented college basketball player who's gone missing. Jason's coach doesn't know where he is; neither does a local crime boss on whom Foley often relies for information. It seems that Jason is on the run. But from whom? And why are people associated with him coming to untimely ends? Some dogged pursuit, characterized by a bit more guts than brains, leads Foley to Jason, and he soon finds himself hiding the kid, who either doesn't know or won't tell who is out to get him and why. But then Cass, the estranged wife Foley is desperately trying to win back, is kidnapped, along with Jason's sister, a switcheroo that puts the PI in a bit of a moral dilemma. Walker's twisty plot and moments of genuine wit are enough to make up for the bouts of cuteness.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312146116
• ISBN-13: 978-0312146115
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,836,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Imagine Bill Murray as a p.i., August 31, 2000

By 

Author Bill Peschel "Writers Gone Wild" (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Half the Truth (Hardcover)

Certain novels have that quality of sliding off the top of the head after being read. Expertly written and plotted, they have nothing more on their mind than entertaining you.

"Half the Truth" is just such a book. Chicago private detective Malachy Foley is a '90s kind of p.i.: hard-boiled but sensitive. He's got a knack for finding trouble, a desire to help and an ex-wife he would like to win back.

In this follow-up to David Walker's Edgar-nominated debut "Fixed in His Folly," Foley must find a college basketball player who went missing shortly after his roommate was drowned while apparently attempting to cross Lake Michigan in his sports car. As his search takes him from downtown Chicago to a Wisconsin military school, Foley encounters several pacifist-challenged men who have the same idea, and the case turns threatening when his client and ex-wife are kidnaped and held for ransom.

"Half the Truth" is a cat-and-mouse game with high stakes, punctuated by tense encounters that threaten to explode at any time. Sometimes, they do.

Walker's sequel was fun to read. Foley's strong desire to see justice done -- a trait common in mystery p.i.'s -- is tempered with unconventional ways of attracting attention from those who don't want to see him, whether tearing up one thug's fake parking ticket or doing exercises in a lawyer's high-toned reception room. If Bill Murray could adopt Foley's mournful demeanor, he'd fit this Second City p.i.'s M.O. to a tee.