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MWSA Review
When you step into the origin story of Marvin J. Wolf's Chelmin and Spaulding CID mystery, M-9, it's much like being in the front seat of the world's wildest roller coaster. You have a nice overview from the original climb, and then drop right into more action than you are ready for, with boomerang turns that double back, corkscrew twists to disorient you, the odd "what the hell was that" moment that leaves your heart in your throat, and when you hit that last page, the feeling of, "Ah man, this can’t be the end already."
It begins with a woman's body in a boxcar full of military clothing. In the next 100 pages you have a sniper attack, one RPG assault that ends with a shootout at a bank robbery, a second RPG attack on a courthouse that ends with two “near miraculous” head shots at 198 yards, a multi-jurisdictional testosterone dispute that confuses every aspect of the case, drug smuggling, money laundering, some cartel red herrings, and a few other bodies along the way. By the time you get to the obligatory but not formulaic partner rescue, the clues are all there, but the junior partner is a touch inexperienced to connect the dots as quickly as one would like.
The partners are well balanced between youthful enthusiasm and cynical experience, both with interesting back stories. Chelmin, the senior partner is a wounded vet with nearly 30 years in CID, a widower whose wife's death is questionable and unresolved. His foray into a relationship with his former sister-in-law is cautious, almost reticent but touching. Spaulding is the young, noble, honest cop who ruined his career by arresting the wrong rich entitled local and has joined the army because he has no other law enforcement options, and he has three generations of Army Airman family he is measuring himself against. It drives him to a level of character that is almost too good. People like that exist, but they are rare. To be honest, Spaulding is the kind of young, handsome, honest, heroic hot chopper pilot that women would stalk in cooperative pairs if not in coordinated packs. A knight errant would make him less Galahad, perhaps to detriment. This is obvious when in the foreshadowing of the Black Hat reveal, he gets played in a way that is clear he is being played but not exactly why—by whom is what adds to the tension.
After a story that leads to Costa Rica and Belize, the ending has lead villains that you never see coming, a couple of support villains that make perfect sense in hindsight, and a few minor characters that get what they deserve in a moment of warm and comforting schadenfreude that will elicit hearty laughter. Enjoy it. I did.
And, then, you turn that last page, and raise your eyes from the page with a wistful, "Please sir, may I have some more?" Luckily, there is more, The Zombie Deception. M-9 is the first of what I hope will be a long literary series and, with the right casting and a director who would deviate not one single iota from the source material, a major movie franchise. These two guys are just that good.
The formatting of the pages will be a bit odd for some readers, as paragraphs are short and widely spaced. And the chapter breaks can feel like a scene cut, more of a movie script than a story. Some will find this easier to read than a more conventional format. It makes for an easily read, fast-paced story where you almost cannot turn pages fast enough.
Review by John Russell (April 2021)
Author's Synopsis
Two unlikely partners find themselves in the crosshairs of a ruthless international gang in this thriller. Wily detective Rudy Chelmin joined the Army Criminal Investigation Division after losing his leg in action in 1991. Rudy discovers a new partner in recruit Will Spaulding, who finds a woman’s naked body in a boxcar full of Army boots. Will enlisted in the Army after getting run out of Barstow, California, after daring to arrest a guilty but privileged scion. The two pair up to solve the murder of Kendra Farrell, the naked woman who died from hypothermia. But their efforts attract the attention of M-9, a dangerous Salvadoran gang, which blows up Will’s Camaro with an RPG. Kendra worked at a base that was the Marine equivalent of Amazon.com, handling orders for all sorts of items. So first the investigators have to determine whether Kendra was involved in or stumbled onto something shady. Next, they have to figure out which of the police with whom they have been working may be in league with M-9, striving to block their investigation. Finally, Rudy disappears and Will has to locate him before he ends up exactly like Kendra.
ISBN/ASIN: ASIN : B07WW2922H
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, Audiobook
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 435