Trouble in Mind

I read a LOT of crime fiction and it can all get a bit samey and, every so often, I crave something a little different. Be it the MC or the actual crime being investigated. In this book I got the both. Sam Kelson is a former cop who was shot in the head when undercover with the drugs squad. This caused, shall we say, behavioural issues for him, the most interesting being his disinhibition; the inability to keep secrets or tell lies. He now works as a PI and, when we first meet him, he is visited by a woman who wants him to investigate her pharmacist brother who she claims is stealing and selling drugs. Sam visits the pharmacy and is redirected to his home as he is not at work. On visiting his home he is shocked to find the man dead. Even worse, the police storm in and arrest him. He's been set up. By who and why?
And so begins a rather convoluted and spiralling tale which has Sam chasing his tail all over the city as both the body count and the number of his arrests rise. More of the story I can not divulge here for fear of spoilers but suffice to say I spent the majority of the book as clueless as Sam so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. And what a ride it was...
I blooming loved Sam. He's so different from any other MC in any crime book I have read. And he loves his kittens! I really hope that this is the start of a series. I suspect it is as the author has gone above and beyond in creating his MC and there's no way he can leave all that wonder behind. The plot is so convoluted that I gave up trying to work out who was who and what was what and, more importantly, who to trust. But, by the end of the book, when all was revealed, I sat back and applauded the author for a job well done. I do have a couple of niggles with some of the things included in the book (no details, sorry, spoilers) but I was more than happy to accept and move on as the rest of what I read was high quality stuff.
All in all, a great book that I have no hesitation recommending for fans of the genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Good crime story. Great read.

A quick synopsis: Two years ago, while taking part in an undercover narcotics sting officer Sam Kelson, mid-30s, took a bullet to the head that should have killed him (in fact, he was technically dead for a brief time). As a result, Kelson, now trying to work as a P.I., suffers from disinhibition which leaves him incapable of keeping secrets or telling lies. He also has an unfortunate habit of making inappropriate comments and a tendency to irritate people.

I was intrigued by the premise of a P.I. who was incapable of keeping secrets. The whole disinhibition aspect was less unique since pretty much all the great hard-boiled detectives have issues with impulse control (though it usually has more to do with anger issues and questionable decision making rather than random stream-of-consciousness commentary).

I wasn't really sure what to expect (seriously, we all know that you can't always trust the book blurb). Perhaps a silly story built around a gimmicky premise... some lightweight crime fiction... a saccharine story of overcoming the odds... whatever. I thought, if nothing else, it would be a pleasant time waster between more "serious" reading.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Trouble in Mind by Michael Wiley is a very good crime novel. Good characters, decent plot, a little dark, odd-ball humor sprinkled in here and there... I would stop short of calling it fast-paced but once things get going it's pretty steady with a fairly streamlined (not overly descriptive) narrative.

I liked this book a lot. In my opinion detective Sam Kelson would not be out of place in the company of such fictional detectives as Elvis Cole (by Robert Crais), or Hap & Leonard (by Joe R. Lansdale). There is also a hint - just a hint - of some of the edgier aspects of ex-cop Matthew Scudder (by Lawrence Block).

If, as I suspect, this ends up being a series then sign me up right now - I'm in!

There is some adult language and brief crime scene descriptions (not overly graphic).

***Thanks to NetGalley, Severn House Publishers, and author Michael Wiley for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.