Midwest Book Review
The Kingfisher and the Crow Reviewed by Midwest Book Review
The Kingfisher and the Crow blends mystery into a political thriller replete with elements of crime, murder, and investigative conundrums.
New Congressman Jerry Sharpe suspects that Mildred Hawthorne murdered his mother decades ago. Now he’s finally in a position to exact revenge, and so he embarks on a campaign to similarly impact her life. He has her loved ones murdered one by one to make her suffer as he did, but there’s one thing standing in his way: crime reporter Skylar Nicholson, who is struggling to save her career. A juicy story of a vengeful congressman would be just the ticket to propel her to notoriety, but can she risk becoming the eye of his powerful storm?
Her second motivation is that she holds connections with her Aunt Millie, who is now an elderly victim despite her checkered past and their relationship. Motivated to gain answers and expose secrets, Skylar finds her own family history getting in the way of her work and a powerful new enemy standing in the path of achievement and the truth.
Viewpoints shift between Skylar and Jerry. While chapter headings identifying these changes might have contributed quicker clarify, it’s fairly evident whose perspective is unfolding.
The juxtaposition of these lives, their motivating interests, and the conjoined professional ambush Skylar experiences when Frank Bergeron, her nemesis from the Times, and her ex-husband, Chip get together to publicly diminish her exposés and determination.
As murder and political relationships emerge, so do undercurrents of social observation, including insights on the double standards and repression surrounding women by political powerhouses:
The Good Samaritan was full of men who could forget to wear their pants and the political circles would think it was cute, but if she forgot her face, no one would take her seriously. And if no one took her seriously, no one would talk to her.
With her investigation hampered by personal and political struggles, Skylar finds herself ever deeper in a mire of good old boys, family skeletons, and intrigue which moves ever closer to drowning her in the secret circles of the political special interests she is set upon exposing.
Jerry’s astute manipulations and considerations create a particularly intriguing and excellent juxtaposition of character and purpose to Skylar’s efforts, involving readers equally in the choices of disparate individuals who find themselves not only at odds with one another, but playing dangerous special and political games.
Like chess pieces, they try to outmaneuver one another against the bigger picture of American politics and special interests. There is no clear winner in this game—just monsters wearing the guises of ordinary citizens or passionate politicians.
Tim Diaz and Peter Marino are particularly adept at building characters whose divergent special interests both clash and illustrate deeper moral and ethical conundrums. Revenge, cruelty, suffering, and redemption all circle around the drain of political special interests in a manner that adds intrigue and unexpected twists to the evolving story.
Between well-developed tension, strong characters, and a realistic social and political atmosphere of behind-the-scenes manipulation and interests, The Kingfisher and the Crow successfully crafts a multifaceted, riveting story that is highly recommended for libraries, book clubs, and individuals that seek more than a simple whodunit, but an exposé of why and how suffering begets cruelty even at the highest levels of social and political achievement.