The Kelleher

The Kelleher is a fast-paced horror/mystery novel. The protagonist, Derek, is an investigator for the attorney general’s office. His specialty is financial crimes, but he finds himself investigating a series of homicides (like 11 in fact) in a small town. The book has strong elements of horror as Derek looks at the crime scene and crime scene photos side by side, and scenes almost come alive in. The suspense builds as it seems more and more likely the culprit of this crime is not a man, but some supernatural force.

I was able to finish the book in just a handful of sittings, which is high praise coming from me as it normally takes quite a few weeks to finish a book. The pacing is quick and the reading enjoyable.

The number of characters given the near-thriller pacing of the book was a bit overwhelming at times. There were 6 members of the sheriff’s department, split between older and younger members. I thought this split was nice to categorize them; however, I kept forgetting which of the 6 names was an old man and which was young. Since there were over a half dozen cases, and people spoken to at most of the crime scenes, following all the names and places and characters became a bit confusing. To me, I felt like I was still meeting the characters as I learned their role in the final plot.

I think there were a few procedural issues in the book. In one case the sheriff’s department brings in some people for questioning. They are cuffed, and one of them literally has a bag placed over their head. Remember, they weren’t under arrest or anything. I’m not an expert on criminal justice by any means, but I found that to be unlikely.

Despite some of the shortcomings, I think the story reads pretty well overall. Some of the prose is quite good, for example: “.... the 40 watt bulb behind him flickered…. The bulb’s life came to a sudden and modest end.” I think it is the word modest there that gets me. In this case, a normally benign event causes quite a scare. I would recommend this book to fans of horror and mystery.

Perspective: 3rd person

Tense: Simple Past

Length: 309 pages

Kindle Unlimited: Yes

https://www.amazon.com/Kelleher-Thomas-Muller/dp/B0BW2GW1Y6