Book – Down To No Good

Down To No Good – Earl Javorsky (2017) – Charlie Miner used to be a private detective.  Then he died.  Sort of. People keep killing him and he keeps waking up.  Waking up dead.  It’s confusing.  When Homicide Detective Dave Putnam asks for Charlie’s help with three murders that are tangled up with a celebrity psychic that confusion just might get them all killed.

Earl Javorsky brings back the most interesting new detective of the last several years.  Charlie Miner first appeared in 2014 in “Down Solo” (my review), a book that grabbed from the first sentences.  The slick combination of the supernatural and murder mystery continues with this second installment.  In addition to being dead (but not a zombie he wants us to know), Charlie is still a junkie, divorced from a crazy ex, and trying to do better as a dad.  Then there is the whole trying to figure out the being dead part.  While Detective Putnam knows Miner’s secret only an ethereal character named Daniel seems to really understand what’s going on.  He just doesn’t seem to be in a big hurry to explain it.  Except that Charlie has a purpose and he needs to figure that out too.

Javorsky has created something really special here.  It would have been easy to cop a standard zombie detective and roll with it.  What you get here is infinitely more interesting.  Miner is still in the grip of his addiction, which results in the usual bad decisions.  But some of those decisions aren’t terminal when you’re already dead.  Beyond the tightly woven story of the psychic and the three murders, there is a deep dive into the conflicted psyche of our hero.  There’s a price to pay for his reprieve, and it is diametrically opposite of the demands of the monkey on his back.

Earl Javorsky continues to offer up well written and smartly told novels.  His characters are believable.  The combination of great writing, high energy and off the wall plot twists made me jump at the chance to review his work again.  It’s always great to find a good storyteller.  When you add in quality writing and a singular imagination, it’s a winning formula.  His books will be something to look forward to for years to come.

“Down To No Good” hits bookstores November 7.


Why You Will Like It – A great murder thriller with a unique and very flawed hero leading the way.

Rating – **** Recommended