MURDER SUSPENDED

A former reporter heads to Ireland on vacation only to become embroiled in a murder investigation in LeValley’s novel.

The seventh entry in the Tony Harrington series finds the namesake protagonist arriving in Ireland hoping to unwind after a rough couple of months—his beloved great aunt has died, and Tony has officially stepped away from working as a reporter for Iowa’s The Orney Town Crier. But rest is not in the offing; he instead stumbles upon the gruesome double murder of two local university students who had their throats cut while in a suspended cable car. Tony makes it his mission to help solve the case, but his plans are complicated when he gets caught up in the violent conflict of rival Irish and Russian gangs—and Tony discovers that he has become a target. With the help of Moira, a local waitress who may know more than she is letting on, Tony uncovers a drug-smuggling operation that may be at the heart of everything. When Moira is kidnapped, the former reporter must work with some very strange bedfellows—including a Russian spy—to get her back and bring the criminals to justice. Coming in at under 300 pages, this taut thriller never lets up on the action: “At the sight of a dark shape lying in the grass, Tony froze. It hadn’t occurred to him that the killer might still be in place. He backpedaled as quietly as possible, then turned to flee. His haste proved his downfall.” Harrington is an endearing protagonist, brave but foolhardy in equal measure with a strong moral compass. Violence, torture, and sexual assault occur in the narrative, but these elements never become overly graphic. And despite one of the character’s names being spelled inconsistently (Niamh versus Naimh), the text glides along with a smooth narrative voice and natural-sounding dialogue. Mixing organized crime, murder, and a compelling love triangle, LeValley has crafted a brisk and satisfying novel.

A snappy, smart thriller that delivers genuine surprises and engaging characters in equal measure.