.
.
by M. J. Finn.
Softcover (5.5×8.5 inches). 385 pages. 2023.
Subtitle: Barnstorming Detective Series
This is the opening self-published volume in a series of novels about T. J. O’Connell. I really like the concept of a barnstorming private investigator (PI), for he can fly to take cases anywhere. Better yet, he’s his own mechanic, so he can fix what he flies. The atmosphere and possibilities are endless.
Imagine my surprise when TJ turns out to be a 17 or 18 year old instead of your typical PI aged in the 30s. Worse, he possesses a hair-trigger temper and is not afraid to release it. It’s actually quite painful to read about the main character ignoring all sorts of
advice, from Jimmy Doolittle no less, that amplifies his troubles.
On the plus side, the atmosphere is spot on. I am at that airfield amid all the hoopla of an Air Race outside Chicago. Tremendous detail.
On the minus side, the bugaboo of mixing points of view (called headhopping) within the same chapter confuses me at times — I have to flip back a page or two to figure out whose head I’m in. An example of that bugaboo is the crash that sets the plot a ticking. I’m in two cockpits at once: TJ’s and that of WWI ace Peter Rice, not to mention the bookies on the ground. It continues off and on.
The plot rolls along with twists and turns aplenty to keep TJ hopping, although he seems to attract an unusual assortment of allies who mitigate his temper while working out the motivations of his enemies.
It’s a good start to a series. Uneven for sure, so I’m hanging the “ties go to the author” label on it, but a good start.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
