SONG GIRL

by Keith Hirshland ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 21, 2022

In this novel, which spans decades and more than half the United States, a police detective searches for a killer.

In the late 1960s, Easterner Reginald Byrd enrolls in a Colorado junior college but spends more time hanging out with a motorcycle gang than studying. The Silent Commandos gang is “led by a hard ass named Christopher Trent Mascaro.” One night, Officer Steven Churchfield parks his cruiser behind Reg’s car as the student sits in it drinking bourbon. Reg impulsively exits his car and shoots and kills the policeman. Mascaro arranges for Reg to take on a new identity and get a job as a security officer at a Raleigh, North Carolina, bank. Now known as Mike Breed, the cop killer plunges into a relationship with a cute co-worker named Daisy Phillips, who knows nothing about his past. “Seasons changed again and again and again without a word. Birthdays also came and went and Daisy was about to have another one” when she reveals to Reg that she’s pregnant. Unhappy with the news, he abandons Daisy and heads to Colorado Springs, leaving her to have the child on her own and give up the baby for adoption. Decades after Reg killed the policeman, Raleigh Detective Marc Allen, an investigator of the apparent suicide of self-proclaimed murderer Hank Hickox, heads to Colorado Springs for a new job. Marc thinks Hank’s daughter, Teri, is the real killer, not her father. She changes her identity and appearance and follows the detective out west with her multimillion-dollar inheritance. Once in Colorado, she searches for real estate, a gun range, and Marc. One of his friends is attractive, blond Hannah Hunt, an accomplished artist who was raised by the Hayneses, an African American family, after her own clan was killed in a car crash when she was a child. Hanna considers Rampart Haynes, who’s one year her senior, her brother, and he becomes her protector after a freak accident leaves her only able to talk in song titles. The faux siblings are friends with Tatiana Rice, who becomes in rapid succession Marc’s neighbor, dogwalker, and girlfriend—a fact that does not go unnoticed by Teri. As Teri stalks Marc, he looks for the killer in the decades-old cold Churchfield case.

The names of popular musical artists and their songs are laced throughout Hirshland’s thriller sequel, and they skillfully root the story in various time periods. Also prevalent but with less of a reason are mentions of characters’ bathroom visits—for example, “The tacos he had recently devoured were making quick work through his system which necessitated a stop at the nearest men’s room”—and players winking (but not at the same time). Information on such topics as doodle dogs, boxing, and the Air Force doesn’t advance the tale. Except for the dangerous Teri’s thoughts and actions, the book is humorless. But when she’s the star of the story, the pages turn quickly. Questionable bits include Reg getting $1,000 for Christmas as a teen from his parents—that would be nearly $8,000 in today’s dollars—and the text mislabeling the statement “their shit don’t stink” as a pun. The writing could be sharper, but, again, Teri remains absolutely riveting.

She’s a murder suspect; she’s a maniac; and she makes this thriller a worthwhile read.

Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-949472-40-0

Page Count: 388

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | THRILLER | DETECTIVES & PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS | HISTORICAL THRILLER | GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE