Mysteries are always fun to read. When I read a mystery novel, I tend to give higher marks right off the bat. That is perhaps why the disappointment is much more keenly felt when I read such a book that is either not good at all, or lackluster at best.
In The Corruptible, by Mark Mynheir, the mystery is told in a first-person narrative by the main character, Private Investigator Ray Quinn. Quinn has a tragic background that lead to his current place in life. He and the woman he loved were homicide detectives who were both gunned down, and only he survived. He decided to open a PI agency, as with his messed-up hip and cane resulting from the shooting, he can no longer work on the police force.
He is struggling for money with his partner, Crevis, when a very wealthy local investor hires him to find some proprietary financial information. The information was suspected stolen by a former cop who turned dirty when his life spun out of control. When the ex-cop, Logan, is found dead in a seedy motel room, the case takes a strange turn.
Eventually, Quinn finds out that perhaps Logan was trying to do right in his last days, and the case takes on a moral dimension. Which is more important to Quinn? Money? Or the truth?
This book had a really good plot and great detail, so it should have been a winner. It fell flat, unfortunately. The plot moved at a snail's pace, and when it did finally get resolved, it happened in a rush in the last quarter of the the book.
I can understand, in a way, why this happened. The author was trying to be detailed about the motives, mindset, and real-life details of police work. He did a masterful job. The problem is that the details eventually overtook and surpassed the narrative in importance. That bogged the story down greatly.
The other issue is that the author throws in moralizing about drinking. I can appreciate where he is going, even if I don't agree, but a slow story of a man's struggle with spiritual issues and coming to Christ over several books (at least, I think that's where Mynheir is going) is a good story by itself. The audience does not need a moral on how alcohol is evil. I understand that some abstain from all alcohol. Not all do, and it detracts from the overall story. It came off less like a story with a moral, and more like an overdone after school special from when I was a kid.
Finally, Mynheir accurately portrays the difficulties of what is obviously some sort of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that Quinn is suffering from, but then goes for the easy just pray and it's better answer. That can be the truth, but God does not always work that way, and some may think He should for them. I have a friend who works in Christian counseling, and there is a difference between those driven entirely by sin and spiritual difficulties, versus those who have real physiological problems. We over-medicate in this society, but some do need the medicine.
The previous paragraph is really a personal critique that I have, and does not affect the overall quality of the narrative. I merely think it is something to point out. The previous arguments do, however, detract from the book's quality. The story was a tad difficult to get through, and I might have rated it rather poorly, but the attention to detail, and truly interesting characters saved it from the trash heap. Still, while it is not horrible, it is barely above readable. I'm sorry to say that I can not recommend it.
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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.
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