Customer Reviews

Slow Fire

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the mainstays of both western and detective fiction is the plot in which the big city detective (or loner on horseback) goes to a small town in the boonies, finds everything upside down and inside out, with the evil forces in charge and the law in tatters. Every Quinn Martin hero of the 60's and 70's has such an experience.

Parker's take on this was the creation of Jesse Stone, the alcoholic, ex-LAPD detective, his marriage broken, his life on the edge of the abyss, who turns bi-coastal and sets up shop in Paradise, MA. Now comes Ken Mercer, with his own twist on a story line that nearly always works like a bandit. Will Magowan has left LA and his job as a narcotics detective for a job as chief of Haydenville, a town in northern California in which every resident seems to be tweaking, scratching, itching and committing mayhem. Looming above them all is a one-shot wonder writer, with a nasty pair of twin boys and a past that includes serious time in stir.

Will figures him for the majordomo of meth, but with the whole town seemingly against him, including the smarmy mayor, the task of convicting him appears to be Sisyphean. Enter Will's wife Laurie, who offers soothing moments in a narrative of nearly unrelieved struggle and pain. Will's other support (a counterpart to Jesse Stone's Suitcase Simpson) is a young man named Thomas, who longs for a nickname and who desperately wants to be of help to his fragile chief. As the challenges increase, Will goes into the woods--that traditional locus of suffering and adventure--to stand up for justice and achieve a decent measure of personal redemption in the process.

This is a very strong narrative, with interesting characters, a fully-realized setting and a piledriver plot. It is an exceptional debut for the author, from whom we should all now expect a Will Magowan series. I certainly look forward to one. Highly recommended.

Just finished Slow Fire and found this first mystery by Ken Mercer completely engrossing. I don't know Mercer's background, but he seems to really know Northern California's meth culture well. My favorite mystery protagonists are Harry Bosch, Elvis Cole, Joe Pike, and Jack Reacher. Mercer's character Will Magowan has the new sensitivity of Pike and the intelligence of Reacher. I find it interesting as the father of young children to see both Mercer and Robert Crais depicting the vulnerability and potential emotional pain inherent in fatherhood. I hope Mercer brings this character back again and that we don't have too long a wait for the next book from this new and talented author.

"Just a few hard knocks. That's what he'd kept telling himself, these past couple of years, but now he had to consider a more disturbing possibility. That perhaps the circumstances were not to be blamed, but only himself." - Will Magowan

Former LAPD narcotics detective Will Magowan has pretty much hit rock bottom. Having been fired because of the heroin addiction he picked up while working undercover, he's estranged from his wife and living in a beat up Airstream trailer at the opening of author Ken Mercer's debut novel, Slow Fire.

Still unemployed and trying to get his life together two years after his firing, Magowan's prospects for another job in law enforcement are looking rather grim. Until, that is, he gets an offer from the Mayor of Haydenville, California to become their Chief of Police. Located far upstate and deep inland in National Forest territory, the once idyllic town is suffocating under a growing methamphetamine problem, one so bad that the Mayor is willing to overlook Magowan's current baggage in favor of his past expertise.

Magowan accepts the position, and in relatively short order identifies the person he believes to be the source of the meth; Frank Carver, a man who served time in the 1970's after being convicted of the voluntary manslaughter of his wife. Unfortunately, Carver also wrote a bestselling book shortly after his release from prison which, in conjunction with his generous patronage of the town's library, makes him `hands off' as far as the Mayor is concerned.

It's not giving anything away to mention that Magowan identifies Carver as his main suspect (it happens early on), as Slow Fire is arguably more of a character study than it is a mystery in the strictest sense. It's Magowan's interactions with those around him - be it mentoring his earnest and painfully naïve young deputy, trying to reconnect with his estranged wife, playing politics with the Mayor, or butting heads with Carver - that truly fuel Slow Fire.

Carver, who presents an unnerving combination of brute force and intelligence for Magowan to square off against, is one of the more disturbing antagonists you'll find in current crime fiction. Magowan is such a wonderfully well-developed character, however, that he's more than up to the task. Mercer has, in fact, hit a stride with Magowan right out of the gate that many authors take two or three books into a series to find. Considering that Slow Fire is Mercer's debut, I can only image the heights he will be able to hit with Magowan as this series unfolds... and I greatly look forward to it.

I enjoy murder mysteries, but I tend to limit my reading of them to those that have female protagonists. If Slow Fire is any indication, I am missing out. Will is not what I think of when I think of a crime novel protagonist. He is multi-dimensional, sympathetic, sad, literary, and sardonic. I wouldn't necessarily want to go out and have a beer with him, but if I needed a detective, I'd want him: he is driven and committed. He also clearly relates to others' pain.

One of the things I find most enjoyable about this novel is the way Mr. Mercer combines some pretty intense action, including violence and some graphic details, with quirky references to classic literature. The pace, plot, and action sequences all make the novel hard to put down, but the glimpses into Will's past and interests, as well as the slow unfolding of his family relationships, set the novel far apart from the run-of-the-mill murder mysteries. As another reviewer noted, the details Mr. Mercer provides including an understanding of tbe meth culture, police work, and the geographical lay-out of Northern California all come together to make this an incredibly well-rounded read. The visual depth of the writing made it easy to imagine this as a movie.

This is an exceptional read--visually compelling and with a character who is real. I can't wait to read more from Mr. Mercer.

The main character, Will Magowan, is a flawed idealist. His idealism creates his vulnerability which is the intriguing part of his personality. This story is a character driven novel. I loved how all sides of this man were shown throughout the story. The reader saw his growth from being a downtrodden washed-up narcotics detective to a driven small town chief who wants to rid a town of drug dealers and a drug culture without any backing from the town leaders. The story builds slowly and picks up tempo until you don't want to put it down. Although I enjoyed the book, I would have liked a better view of how the town was affected by the methamphetamine culture and what he was truly fighting against. Overall, this was a page turner!

Hero's flaws kept him human. Suppporting characters added further dimension. A quick read, held my interest to the end. Reminds me of Lee Child.

Frank Carver is the most interesting antagonist since Hannibal Lector. And "SLOW FIRE," is one of the most gripping and intelligently written crime books since Mario Puzo's "The Godfather."

One of the things I admire most about Ken Mercer's maiden effort (I hope there are many more to come) was that I learned graphically detailed information about things I had not known about before: Like police pathology procedures, methamphetamine addiction, prison internment, explosives, and even kayaking. Mercer's research on these topics contributed significantly to my enjoyment of this page turner.

The novel is not perfect in that i found one of the plot twists a little far fetched. but it"s sure as hell is an entertaining ride. And particularly (with references to Joyce, Tolstoy, Dante, Yeats and Oscar Wilde) a bonus for the literary inclined. Mercer's writing skills vault him far beyond the mindless prose of the "format" authors presently dominating this genre.

I came into this book not knowing if I would like it. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. The Northern California town was unfamiliar but all too real. Not my life but a life I know is out there. Very interesting how it all fits together. Can't wait to see how the Sherriff moves on. Totally absorbing but I wish it wasn't true!

You would think it's another bad cop from the city trying to survive as the law in a small town when you start reading Slow Fire by Ken Mercer. It is more than that. Will Magowan has demons of his own when he took on the job as police chief of a Haydenville. He has to deal with drug crazed citizens, missing pets, and secrets that everyone seems to want to keep hidden. Mercer debut novel is well-written, full of suspense and drama that keeps your emotions on edge as you turn each page. I enjoyed this novel immensely.

A friend recommended SLOW FIRE to me and I'm glad he did. This is a suspenseful story with vividly-drawn characters and taut, muscular prose.
The guilt-ridden Will Magowan is a fascinating protagonist, and I got caught up in his inner and outer struggles. His adversary, Frank Carver, is similarly compelling, a monster with aspirations of literary greatness.
Personally, I would've liked to have seen more of life in Haydenville, the small town where Magowan seeks redemption. And a sub-plot introduced in the second half of the book doesn't seem to fit. But I would definitely recommend SLOW FIRE and look forward to Mercer's next book.