I like my mysteries to be more than plot. I want characters that are morally ambivalent and villains that are heroes and heroes with feet of clay. On top of that, I like well written sentences and lush setting.

This book fits that description to a tee.

The protagonist is Jimmy Miller. The book starts with the events that lead to the death of his parents, when Jimmy is twelve. The next twentyish years go by in relative summary. Jimmy travels the world after being released from juvenile detention and eventually settles in Costa Rica. While there, his childhood friend, Dillon, finds him. The two share a day together and then Dillon goes home. Shortly after Dillon’s return to New Jersey, Hurricane Sandy demolishes their hometown. Shortly after that, someone kills Dillon. Jimmy gets on a plane and goes home.

The story is about Jimmy’s search for Dillon’s killer, but more than the mystery, the depiction of the hurricane ravaged Jersey shore as well as the interactions with people Jimmy hasn’t seen for decades are what kept me hooked. Maybe the story could have been a little tighter, and at times the book is a little wordy, but this one fit my particular wheelhouse as a reader.

My Take: Read It