Howard Owen

It is early January 2021 as the latest in the Willie Black Series, Dogtown, begins. Covid is raging in Richmond, Virginia, and the newspaper industry continues its slow slide to oblivion. For now, Willie Black still has a job to do. He covers the crime beat, day or night, for the local paper. That means that the discovery of the body on a hill that gives a nice view of Richmond’s skyline is on his beat.

The dead white guy isn’t the first person to die in the new year. He just might be the first to die by savage slash to the throat. A cut so vicious it almost took his head off. He is also probably the first to lose a finger after death.

He won’t be the last.

The murder of a 58-year-old plumber will the first of several linked killings over the next days and weeks. Reporter Willie Black chases the story and its ramifications because once again the police have the wrong suspect in custody thanks to heavy pollical pressure. As the murders continue, he chases the story against the backdrop of Covid and its effect along with ongoing societal issues in Richmond.

This is the latest solidly good installment of a series that does not get near enough attention. Societal issues of various types along with the slow ongoing demise of the newspaper industry servs as the background to numerous instances of murder in this series. More than once, those factors lead to the arrest and incarceration of the innocent and poor.

Such is true here in Dogtown: A Willie Black Mystery.

While it is always recommended by this reviewer to read in order, the allusions to previous events and stories in this book are minimal. That means that with the majority of the read referencing current events in January 2022 with a minimum of backstory, one could safely read this one first if so desired.

Either way, Dogtown: A Willie Black Mystery is a solidly good read.

My reading copy was an ARC sent to me by ‎ The Permanent Press last Fall with no expectation of my review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023… (plus d'informations)

It is May 2020 as Monument: Willie Black Mystery Series by Howard Owen begins and just a few days after the death of an unarmed black man in police custody occurred in Minneapolis. There have been Black Lives Matter protests all across the county and that includes Richmond, Virginia, where reporter Willie Black has been on the story. A story that is expanding as the protests become increasingly violent.

A story that soon changes and becomes far more personal with the discovery of two bodies in an apartment over a nearby bookstore. There had been protests in the area and there had been vandalism and damage. Checking out the situation as the door of a used bookstore stored open, officers checked the bookstore on the ground floor, and went upstairs. On the second floor, those two officers soon found a woman and a man tied to chairs in the living room. Both were bound and gagged and each had been shot in the chest and head. As they checked the rest of the apartment, they found a baby alive and unharmed in her crib.

The deceased are soon identified as William and Susan Keller, both of whom were in their early thirties. While they do not have a motive, the local cops quickly have an identified suspect. Adam Walker, the son of Willie Black’s first wife, Jeanette. Willie Black is not be the boy’s biological father, but he was Jeanette’s first husband, so that means a lot. That personal angle means that he has access to information that others do not have as the days pass and the investigation moves forward. It also puts him in the crosshairs of at least one person who determined to shut up the pesky reporter once and for all.

Monument is the latest in the long running Willie Black mysteries. This latest one is set against the backdrop of the BLM protest, the Covid pandemic, and various societal issues that have been at the forefront of the news these past months. Intense and powerful, the book also spins a mighty good mystery read. Strongly recommended by myself as well as Publishers Weekly which gave it a starred review.

Monument: Willie Black Mystery Series
Howard Owen
http://www.howardowenbooks.com
The Permanent Press
https://thepermanentpress.com/products/monument-willie-black-mystery-11
November 2021
ISBN# 978-1579626471
Hardback
232 Pages

I received a PDF of the book from the publisher with no expectation of a review.



Kevin R. Tipple ©2021… (plus d'informations)

It is early September 2019 as Jordan's Branch: A Willie Black Novel by Howard Owen begins. Reporter Willie Black knew that Stick Davis has been dead for quite a while when he sees the body. More than half a dozen times somebody shot the man. Once someone had thoroughly through ventilated Stick David, he or she left, and now Willie Black has found the body.

Finding the body is seen by some as proof that he did it. The fact that the man still owed Willie forty-five thousand to write his autobiography gives him motive in the minds of some folks. The fact they have a long history and got along does not seem to play into those considerations.

For most in journalism, it is a recognized fact that the reporter should never be part of the story. For Wille Black, he is very much part of the story. His bosses at the steadily shrinking paper do not like that fact or the fact that he is a suspect. That includes the current publisher, Ben Stine, who has a few thoughts about that issue and others.

As long-time readers know, this isn't the first time Willie Black has been suspected of a crime by the police. Over the years, he has made his bosses wonder more than a few things about him. One would think by now that all involved would know better.

Willie Black knows that he has to investigate to clear his name. It does not take Willie long before things start escalating. Playing fast and loose with the questions might get him killed.

The latest in this long running series is another solidly good read. Jordan's Branch: A Willie Black Novel by Howard Owen brings back a number of characters long familiar to readers in a read filled with societal observations and commentary. Those societal observations serve as background while never getting in the way of the main mystery of Jordan's Branch: A Willie Black Novel.

Strongly recommended.

I received a PDF of the book from the publisher with no expectation of a review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021… (plus d'informations)