Customer Reviews

Nothing But Trouble

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

 

 

Mc Garrity seems to be moving in the direction of local description ala Hillerman or Burke as he moves his principal character out of Santa Fe to actions in the bootheel of New Mexico. As a consultant to a film company being funded by a questionable childhood friend, Kearny becomes involved in events which are at first unclear: is it drug smuggling, illegal aliens, something else? And who is doing it? And which government agancies are involved? Well it all gets worked out in the end - but I suspect there is another novel lurking about the friend and his murky doings. In addition, this novel could as honestly be subtitled a Kevin Kearny and Sara Brandon novel, for virtually a third of the novel deals with her efforts to resolve a mystery her husband Kearny uncovered in a previous work. The somewhat jumbled result of her success which implicates her superior's crony is a transfer to Iraq near the end of the novel, an event which leaves us hanging and begs for a sequel. So, although this is a well written and nicely plotted novel, with the main plot of the story resolved, it still leaves a bit too much hanging. By the way, early in the novel an odd, unconnected short vignette of a wealthy young woman shoplifing at art events which is very distracting. I must confess, the descriptions of the horse country and cattle ranches are gripping. Kearny's fathering touches anyone,, but I miss, I guess the outcome of the earlier novels, (Tularosa, Judas Judge, Big Gamble) just a smidge of that feeling of good triumphant at the end of a crime novel.

McGarrity has solid strengths going for him as a crime novelist: he knows the stuff he writes about from personal experience (from the nitty-gritty of police work to off-the-beaten path New Mexico scenes) and best of all, he knows how to bring it all to life with a very likable hero enmeshed in gripping plots, with outstanding locales as backdrops.
Then, it is a mystery as to why in his last two books his plots and settings seem to be moving away from what used to work so successfully in the previous books (starting with Slow Kill, even the jacket art is changed to generic stuff -also missing from the recent books are those quaint hand drawn maps showing the area of action). In Slow Kill, the plot was diffused -as the story was split between NM and CA- and the California scenes were distracting and did not work very well, especially in contrast to the superb handling of settings and mood in the New Mexico part of the story. Does this have something to do with change of publisher, perhaps?
This shift in strategy is much more pronounced in Nothing but Trouble, his latest book. McGarrity has the action slowed further, and diffused over different geographic locations, from NM to Ireland, ending in Iraq. There is very little action that we care about involving Kerney (he is even contemplating retirement from being Police Chief of Santa Fe); but the good news is, about 1/3 of the way into the book we discover that there is another book burried in the middle: Kerney's wife, Lt. Col. Sara Brannon has her own adventure, with a totally separate storyline (one that got its start in Slow Kill as a Kerney case) that takes place mostly out of the country. The story involving Sara is quite interesting, with colorful and believable characters, flowing action, sustained suspense, and a gut wrenching ending with politically incorrect Sara exiled to duty in Iraq! In the meantime, back at the ranch...Kerney works as an advisor for a movie being filmed in the boothheal of NM. Very little happens to him and we don't have a satisfactory explanation for the things that do happen. The stunted descriptions of what's involved in shooting a movie on location are excruciatingly uninteresting. To top it off, the Kerney storyline is populated with borderline stereotypical characters (such as his bad boy childhood friend -as in the title of the book- and the friend's sister whose primary function in life seems to be coming on to any man -especially Kerney, of course- within shouting distance). While you read the Kerney sections, you want to scream, Who cares? But, you do feel for him when he is trying to adjust to life with their toddler son (who used to live with Sara) while Sara is away. This is not vintage Kerney territory, and we can tell that he is bewildered, and so are we. I wait for the day when Sara returns from Iraq safely and straightens all this out.

Mr. McGarrity seemed to have trouble focusing on a storyline in Nothing But Trouble. None of the plots were fully developed, and too many questions remained dangling at the end of the book. I have enjoyed all the other Kevin Kerney novels, but this one disappointed me.

This latest Kevin Kerney novel finds Kerney and his family at a cross roads. The Santa Fe Police chief knows that his current lifestyle is not working. With his job in New Mexico and his wife Sara currently assigned to the Pentagon he is unable to see her or his three year old son Patrick as he wants too. With the nation at war and Sara unable to leave her job and not wanting to either, Kevin is beginning to think that it is time to move on.

Moving on is also a concept he also feels should apply to his former friend Johnny Jordan. Johnny always had one scheme or another going while he chased women and drank to excess. That hasn't changed but the schemes have gotten grander. This time he intends to produce a modern day western and wants Kevin involved as a technical advisor for old times sake. Though suspicious of Johnny's real motives, Kevin needs a change of pace and decides to accept the proposition.

Before long, Kevin finds himself deep in a murder investigation that may have links to illegal immigrant smuggling and organized crime. He is also deep into parenting as Sara is off to Ireland on a far reaching investigation of her own that first began several novels ago involving desertion and smuggling. Kevin juggles both and before long, finds himself failing at all of it.

This latest book in the series, that 10th overall, clearly is a set up for the next one. Fundamental changes in their lives are happening and neither Sara nor Kevin is very sure about where their professional careers are headed. A story plot that could have been exploited and yet is not given nearly as much attention as the focus is primarily on the details of how to make a movie.

Those details, which are extensive, one could reasonably expect to be key in resolving the investigation aren't. Instead, they provide long breaks in action throughout the book and do not provide any more information than one could gleam from watching one of the many Hollywood coverage shows. They seen to serve no real purpose other than to fill pages and boost the word count.

However, when author Michael McGarrity allows the characters to do what they do best, both Kevin and Sara move steadily forward carrying the novel forward in their separate cases. As always, in those sections the result is a good read that captivates the reader and provides strong entertainment especially in regards to Sara's case.

The overall novel is a bit of rollercoaster read as it bogs down in several spots and moves smoothly at a rapid pace in others. While average for the series, McGarrity's work is better than most others on their best day and that certainly is true here.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyrighted)2006
(always a real person and way over 13)

Once a good series gets going do publsihers/editors develop an emperor's new clothes fear? Are the authors pressured to deliver the new book on a tight timeline and so do more typing than writing? I enjoyed previous books in the series and looked forward to the new one. Sadly, McGarrity couldn't quite decide on what plot to follow, or what his charcters would be like. My reading experience: I felt like a horse being ridden by someone who couldn't make up his mind on which trail to follow or which aids to use, and it made me want to buck and rear.

I've enjoyed the Kerney series; in fact one of my favorites that I couldn't wait for the next one to be released. No more. I will now wait for the paperback. If I wanted to read a mystery set in Ireland, I would look for an Irish author. There is very little action in the book. The characters are not well developed. I'm simply not interested in Sara Brannon and her military misadventures.

I don't know why successful authors think they have to experiment and move away from a successful product. McGarrity needs to refocus on Kerney and New Mexico. Otherwise, he is going to have "nothing but trouble."

This was the first McGarrity book I read and had my head spinning afterwards. After reading other McGarrity books and looking through some of the reviews I finally know why. You've got to read the Keven Kearney books in chronological order, otherwise they won't make sense to you as the characters develop through the series.

When I read this book, thought the Sara subplot was very strange. It got introduced fairly well but the subplot didn't end. Now I know that it will probably end with the next KK book. When I read the "prequel" to this book "Slow to kill" I was wondering at the way the book finished abruptly but now I know it was just to be continued.

I still gave this book high marks because McGarrity's style is easy to read and I'm familiar with the characters, they're like old friends. You've got to get used to his rushed endings though.

The best things for me are the way he details police procedure during the investigations. Some reviews find them boring, but I find it relaxing to read. To each their own. You either like these books or you don't, and the books are so formulaic that you'll find out within 1 book whether you like them or not.

None of my reviews discuss the plot. That's because I prefer to read books "blind" so I don't even know what type of book I'm getting into. I don't even read the flyleafs, just a minimum scan to let me know it's not romance or something like that. And I figure, if you want to know the plot, you can read the descriptions. I just try to detail what I like or dislike about them.

The last couple of Kerney novels seemed a bit bland; his latest is back to the level of the early novels. Quick, enjoyable read.

NOTHING BUT TROUBLE by Michael McGarrity is the latest book about police officer and crime solver, Kevin Kearney. McGarrity long ago decided that loose cannon detectives were cliches, so he set out to make Kevin Kearney a living, breathing person. So in NOTHING BUT TROUBLE Kearney, his wife,Sarah, and and three-year-old son, Patrick, plan to spend a couple of weeks vacation on a movie set in New Mexico. But of course, adventure interrupts the plan. An army Colonel, Sarah finds herself off on an over-seas assignment that the top brass at the pentegon doesn't like. Kearney discovers a few things going down on the set that weren't in the script. Typical mystery, right? Well, almost. McGarrity tosses in the usual false suspects, false leads, and narrow escapes. But he never merges Sarah's adventures with Kevin's. Both pursue their cases independently. This creates a very interesting plot line for NOTHING BUT TROUBLE. Those who like the unexpected twist, the idea of a dual story will enjoy this one. McGarrity sets the action of NOTHING BUT TROUBLE in New Mexico's bootheel, the most remote part of the state. All sorts of stuff happens in the rugged bootheel, from ranching, to copper smelting, to the smuggling of illegals over the Mexican border. McGarrity uses all these activities to add layers to his story. He also gives a thorough physical description of the place that will keep the reader emersed in the book.

Although this is as much a procedural as his earlier books, and as short on action, this one moves much better and holds the reader to the end. The author is not afraid to leave some loose ends and unpunished bad guys for another day, as in real life. The focus on our hero's wife is very useful to building suspense and we all can identify with two working parents torn between career and family. Well done.