Winter Massey is back in SMOKE & MIRRORS, the latest in the long-running series of author John Ramsey Miller. A former U.S. Marshal who has been put through the ringer, Massey is vacationing with his family, teaching his daughter to hunt, when his time off is cut short by a former friend coming to ask for help.
The pal – a current sheriff in a neighboring town – tells Massey that a babysitter for a pretty well-to-do family has been killed by a stray bullet … or at least it’s been made to look that way. Once they get to the area where the rifle was fired from, Massey knows exactly who made the shot. After all, the guy left his calling cards as a taunt to Massey.
The man behind the murder is a bad guy from one of Miller’s previous novels: a hired killer named Styer, who’s really up there on the list of the coldest psychos in the literary world. There are passages where you see just what kind of horrible monster Miller has come up with.
But why the babysitter was killed is a small part of a greater conspiracy – one dealing with treacherous land developers and corrupt gamblers. SMOKE & MIRRORS is a huge, varied read for anyone who craves a thriller to sink his teeth into. Miller’s writing has enough twists to make it a ride, leading to a total, over-the-top ending which might have been a little more original if some of the elements hadn’t already been used in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
But that’s just nitpicking. Thankfully, Miller doesn’t ruin the previous books, even with having the killer return from one of them, so there’s nothing to get angry about. Plus, Styer is such a monster that you would love to read more about him. This is not what the high literati will be clamoring for, but for the BOOKGASM crowd, I can’t recommend it more highly. It’s pure escapism. –Bruce Grossman
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Sounds like fun.Love it already and it has been a while since I’ve read such a strong recommendation so I won’t miss it.