Book Review – Down Solo

Down Solo – A Novel of Suspense by Earl Javorsky (2014) –  Charlie Minor is a small-time detective with a list of less than reputable characters filling his life, a borderline crazy wife and a daughter with whom he doesn’t spend nearly enough time.  But when he wakes up dead, his life gets really complicated.  Seriously.  He’s dead and walking around trying to solve his final case.   Unless you count figuring out how he actually manages to wander around with that bullet in his skull…

There’s an old saying that the first line of the novel should hook you.  Earl Javorsky’s first two lines were when I knew I was hooked:

They say once a junkie, always a junkie, but this is ridculous.  I haven’t been dead more than a few hours and I already need a fix.

I knew just that quickly this wasn’t like every other book I’ve read this year.  Javorsky manages to create a quirky, funny story that is also an outstanding mystery.  Charlie is struggling with all the things that life has thrown him plus the challenges of being not quite dead.  In a brisk 200 pages, he brings together murder, out of body experiences, the walking dead, fathers and daughters and more in a story that simply demands your continued reading.  The combination of Stephen King and Raymond Chandler creates a really interesting new voice in mystery writing.  It’s funny, warm, challenging and thought provoking.

That’s no small accomplishment for any author.  For a first novel, it is an achievement worthy of note.  When it hits the shelves you should grab a copy.

Down Solo hits the shelves December 9, 2014.

Rating – **** Recommended