Chalk Line: A Ben Gallagher Mystery

by Paula LaRocque

Chief of Detectives Ben Gallagher thinks life will once again be rosy when his younger brother Andrew is released from prison. But, on the very day Andrew is set free, the brothers discover the body of a lifelong friend, and the murder launches Ben on a fast slide from his revered rule of law. He is soon ordered to stay away from the case, but the closer he gets, the surer he becomes that a family member is somehow implicated. Torn between loyalties, he embarks on a race that takes him thousands of miles and a couple of decades away, leading to a cold case in the north—and a killer no one would ever suspect.

Genres: Mystery

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Paula is an editor, communications consultant, and author of nonfiction who has recently turned her attention to writing fiction. Her first novel, a mystery titled “Chalk Line,” will be published by Marion Street Press, Inc., in 2011.

Often hailed as one of America’s foremost writing coaches, Paula has conducted writing workshops for hundreds of media, government, academic, and business groups across the United States, Canada, and Europe. She also has served as a writing consultant for the Associated Press, the Drehscheibe Institute in Bonn, and the European Stars & Stripes in Germany.

From 1971 to 1981, she taught technical communication at Western Michigan University’s School of Engineering and, after moving to Texas, taught journalism at Texas A&M, Southern Methodist, and Texas Christian universities. From 1981 to 2001, she was assistant managing editor and writing coach at The Dallas Morning News.

She has been a columnist for the Society of Professional Journalists’ Quill magazine for more than 20 years. Her commentaries on the language air regularly on National Public Radio in Dallas, and she’s author of three books on writing (Marion Street Press).

After leaving The Dallas Morning News in 2001, Paula -- now a member of the Mystery Writers of America and of the Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Workshop -- wrote the first two books of a mystery series. The series features detective Ben Gallagher and is set in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

A member of the Associated Press Managing Editors association from the early 1990s through 2001, she was elected to the Board of Directors and appointed an officer. In 2001, the association granted her its highest honor: the Meritorious Service Award for exemplary contribution to journalism.

She earned a BA degree Summa Cum Laude in 1971 and an MA in 1972 (Western Michigan University). She also worked on a doctorate, but her career became so demanding she did not complete it.

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

How far would you go to protect your family? A loved one? Even a memory? We all have a line we will not cross .. what is yours?

Chief of Detectives Ben Gallagher is faced with just such a decision to be made. His younger brother is just released from a 10-year sentence at Huntsville Prison. Taking him home with him, they discover the body of Dayton Slaughter, a lawyer, the man who has been like a father of them.
Trying to be allowed to stay on the case, he gathers his team and hope they can find some answers before the bis boss comes back from time off and tells Ben he's not allowed to investigate .. he's too close to the victim.

There are all kinds of suspicious people involved, including his mother, who is being very secretive about ..something. A neighbor and her adult son are just plain snarky, if you ask me. The girl who runs a gift shop is quirky, funny, and a heart of gold. Then there's the bag lady who, although acts mentally ill, may not be who they all think she is.

The book, I admit, started out a little slow for me... a little predictable, or so I thought. The more I read, the more involved I became. It was a terrific story with a lot of entertaining characters.

I checked and Book 2 has not been written yet, which is a shame. The Gallaghers would make a great series.

[Marla Roth-fisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

By: Paula LaRocque
Publisher: Marion Street Press
Publishing Date: September 2011
ISBN: 978-1-933338-95-8
Reviewed by: Mary Lignor
Review Date: June 30, 2011


Ben Gallagher is the Chief of Detectives in the Dallas Police Department. Ben is not your usual police detective. He is very young, handsome and an artist to boot. Ben is also an heir to a family fortune that will keep him in food and shelter for many years to come. He lost his father in the Vietnam War and his younger brother has been incarcerated in Huntsville Prison, in Texas for ten years due to a college prank that turned bad. Ben is devoted to the law and sees everything in shades of black and white (no grey areas). As the story opens, Andrew (Ben's brother) is paroled and Ben has picked him up and taken him back to their mother's home for a celebration to toast Andrew's new life.

Shortly after arriving the two men find the body of their friend Dayton Slaughter, the family lawyer and a second father to them both. Also, he just happens to be the man their mother was about to marry. The body is found in Ben's house so his superiors take Ben off the case because Dayton is a family friend and Ben is too close to the investigation. This decision is a hard one for him to follow. Ben, contrary to his personality, is breaking rules right and left to try and answer some hard questions about his own family, as he is afraid that a family member is involved. Torn between loyalty to his family and his job, he races to find the killer before he has to abandon the case.

The final solution to the case will make Ben think about considering some of the shades of grey that he always discounted. Ben's loyalty is definitely called into account as he is pulled into some sticky situations while trying to work on Dayton's case. What and who he has always counted on for help and advice just might not work any more.

This is a mystery that will thrill the reader, written by a fairly new talent in the mystery field. The story offers many twists and turns in the plot to keep readers awake all night, if need be, flipping pages until you reach the end.

Quill Says: Chalk Line is a fascinating whodunit that will keep readers busy changing their minds about the killer. The author knows how to grasp the meaning of family vs. job and family vs. law. A great read and this reviewer is looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Terry Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read mystery novels. I’ve been afraid, not that I wouldn’t guess whodunit, but that it wouldn’t make sense to me when the central detective figured it out. I didn’t want the mystery to be mystifying. Such is not the case with Paula LaRocque’s Chalk Line, the first in what I hope will be a long line of Ben Gallagher mysteries. You’ll never guess the murderer of an old family friend of Ben’s — a man his widowed mother was about to marry — but, for those of you who are as insecure about these things as I am, you will be able to follow the steps in solving the mystery.

It would have been easy to make Ben and the the rest of a large cast of characters one-dimensional caricatures, but LaRocque has provided them all with enough contradictions and personal quirks to make them seem like frustratingly real humans.

Ben Gallagher, who has a doctorate in fine arts, is chief of detectives in Arlington, Texas. The book opens with him driving to the state penitentiary to pick up his brother Andrew who has just completed a 10-year sentence in Huntsville prison for his part in a prank gone bad.

Once home, but before Ben and Andrew can have a reunion dinner with family and friends, Dayton Slaughter (a fitting name for the victim) is murdered in Ben’s house. Ben manages to cop two days’ head start from his boss to find the killer before the case is handed over to his Nigerian-born partner (who also holds a PhD, in chemical engineering) and their team, consisting of a Comanche and a lesbian. The cast consists of practically the full complement of racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual-orientation possibilities, but mercifully no Texas stereotypes.

The case takes Ben and Co. on a multiple mystery tour from Texas to Michigan and back again, solving not only Slaughter’s… um, slaughter… but also a 40 year-old cold case, and uncovering family secrets.

LaRocque is a former assistant managing editor and writing coach at the Dallas Morning News and author of several books on writing that I have used in training new journalists. So I expected her writing to be as evocative as it was. In fact, LaRocque’s use of detail is such that once you’ve read the book and then seen the movie when — and there will be a movie — you will swear you’ve already seen it.

[Trish Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s an interesting exercise to read a debut novel by someone who has written so much about writing itself. I had high expectations, and Ms. LaRocque did not disappoint. This book pulled me in from the opening lines:

"The best way to get there from Dallas is to go straight down I-45. Takes three hours or so. The terrain’s more rolling and wooded than you might expect, especially around Corsicana. It levels off as you head south, going to heavy underbrush and open fields and farmlands."

My first thought was, “Where are we going?”, and my second thought was, “Why are we going there?” And I kept reading to find out the answers to those questions and to all of the new ones that arose as the story unfolded. The plot had just enough twists and turns to propel me along without being too confusing or far-fetched.

The characters in Chalk Line are a fascinating assortment of people. Of course, we learn a lot about Ben and his family, as this is the first novel in the series and also centers on a crime that occurs close to home, both geographically and emotionally. Ben’s fellow detectives are a predictably diverse group of people in a contemporary novel, yet are presented with enough depth that I am intrigued to know more of their stories. I was also drawn to Ben’s brother Andrew and hope to see more of him in future books as well.

I greatly enjoyed the writing in this book, especially the variety of literary references made by several of the characters. While it wouldn’t go far without a good plot or interesting characters, the quality of the descriptions and the thoughtful consideration of deeper issues takes the book to a higher level. Ben, in particular, faces personal challenges about trusting others and navigating the gray areas of life.

All said, this is an impressive debut, and I am eagerly anticipating more Ben Gallagher mysteries!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

My own career and business and livelihood, like Paula LaRocque's, have to do with the language and using it with expertise. So I was curious when I heard she had written a novel. I've known her for decades, as a friend, a writing coach, and author of books about writing. She’s one the funniest people I know … but could she write a good murder mystery, one that would keep me interested, even put me on the edge of my seat?
Boy, could she ever! Chalk Line’s cast members are not your typical murder mystery characters (though a couple are breathtakingly scary). They’re delightfully quirky and complex, and their vivid dialogue and Paula’s deft descriptions kept the “movie” running in my imagination. The short, tight chapters flit from scene to scene, sweeping readers around the book’s hairpin plot turns.
For most of her career, Paula has mentored writers on how to write well. With Chalk Line, her debut novel, she shows that she knows exactly what she’s talking about.
~ Jenny Meadows, Austin Texas USA, MyCopyEditor.com

[Linda Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

The colorful characters in Paula LaRocque’s “Chalk Line” are so well drawn that I felt as if I knew them personally. This murder mystery is a real page turner, with a deliciously twisty plot that kept me guessing right up to the end. And even my final guess was wrong.

The book has everything that makes a great summer read: romance, intrigue, dark family secrets, and a liberal sprinkling of laugh-out-loud humor. Events moved along so seamlessly that it took me a while to notice that the story also serves up a thought-provoking examination of situational ethics, loyalty and trust.

This is LaRocque’s first mystery novel about Chief of Detectives Ben Gallagher, a lovably flawed hero with a Ph.D. in art, who seems more than a little out of place in a squad room, despite his talent for unraveling the most difficult cases. In "Chalk Line," the thread leads him right back to his own family.

I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fast, clear read. I loved the way Paula LaRocque, a former colleague of mine and writing coach extraordinaire, took me back to the big D and its environs in this book. If you've ever wanted a sense of Texas, read this book. The author did a great job developing the characters as well and keeping the reader engaged. I don't normally flock to mysteries, but this one kept me reading. Not to mention, I do know the author so wanted to read it anyway.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific read and a most impressive first novel! A first-class murder mystery veiled in secrets, past and present, laid bare by the protagonist, a first-class, albeit apparently unappreciated, lawman. Set in Texas and Michigan, the differences between North and South, educated and not-so-educated, play heavily in the exposition of the character development which flows from beginning to end. I look forward with much anticipation to what is next in store from the author.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I found it a little slow to start, but once the crime occurred, the investigation had me hooked. Unlike many mysteries, the crime itself was believable and well-crafted. I read the rest of it straight through the morning. I can't decide if I liked the DFW setting or if I found it distracting, trying to picture it.

Now that I think of it, it reminded me a lot of James Lee Burke.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully crafted mystery. I am not usually a mystery reader but I was engaged by this book and its well-introduced characters. I look forward to the next Ben Gallagher Mystery to learn what is happening with Ben and Andy.

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is LaRocque's first book. She was a long time staff member of the Dallas News. The story takes place in the DFW metroplex. The story is good and engaging. I would have liked more description of the locations in the story. Her characters are interesting and it is quick read.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that will keep you guessing. The past plays an important part in the resolution of the murders.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this first book by a teacher of writing.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the fact that it was a mystery, author lives in Arlington and story takes place mostly in Texas!