THE DEAD JUDGE AND THE GOLDEN BUDDHA

In Cain’s final installment of a crime-fiction trilogy, a judge’s sudden, violent death rattles the local political establishment.

Jason Olyphant, a skateboarder in Washington state who’s notorious for his reckless stunts, becomes a murder suspect after a collision that apparently claims the life of Judge Alvin Hansen, a pillar of Hardin County’s legal community. Jason flees the scene and races to see attorney John Abel, who initially believes that Judge Hansen’s death was a senseless but unforeseen outcome (“Why did you run? It sounds like an accident,” he tells Jason). Veteran homicide detective Laconia Jones, however, feels that certain details of the scene are odd—such as the extra golf club in Judge Hansen’s golf bag. Abel begins raising some tough questions of his own, which lead him to suspect that Olyphant may have nothing to do with the judge’s demise. Many of the questions center on Judge Hansen’s record in office, particularly his ruling in favor of Mike Graham, a neighboring landowner who’d opposed a golf course as a flood-prone boondoggle, setting him on a collision course with Hardin County’s shadowy powers-that-be. What both men uncover initially points to more complicated motives of revenge and concealment. It’s a familiar mystery setup that requires fine storytelling to pull off, and Cain delivers in brisk, no-nonsense fashion. He also demonstrates a flair for snappy dialogue, whether he’s referencing a smile that “only a teacher’s pet could appreciate” or dishing up chilling insights into the mentality of murder: “There is more to killing than just the killing.” Another bold stroke is a revelation roughly halfway into the story, effectively transforming the tale from a whodunit to an old-school “howcatchem.” Some fans may dismiss this maneuver as a Columbo-style move, but Cain’s rapid-fire approach should be sufficient to overcome any objections.

A fast-paced, engagingly written mystery.