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Cal Claxton #1
Matters of Doubt
"A fast, fun read with a fascinating defendant and our hero, Cal Claxton, a small town lawyer who risks his life to solve a big time cold case." ―Phillip Margolin, New York Times bestselling author Cal Claxton is determined to reinvent himself as a small town lawyer in the aftermath of his wife's suicide. Once a hard-charging L.A. prosecutor, he now lives in an old farmhouse overlooking the Oregon wine country. When a scruffy, tattooed kid shows up asking for help in solving his mother's cold case murder, Cal wants to say no. But the kid, who calls himself Picasso, has ridden a bike from Portland, and something about his determination touches Cal. It turns out that Picasso is a gifted artist and one of the legions of street kids who are drawn to Portland's Old Town. Cal accepts Picasso as a client, but things quickly take an ugly turn when Picasso is charged with the murder of a major business figure. The evidence is overwhelming. Suddenly Cal finds himself back in the game, pitted against the police, the media, and some of Portland's most powerful citizens.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published September 2, 2013
88 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Warren C. Easley
11 books41 followersFormerly a research scientist and international business executive, Easley lives in Oregon where he writes fiction, hikes, skis, and fly fishes. As the author of the Cal Claxton Mysteries, he received a Kay Snow national award for fiction and was named the Northwest's Up and Coming Author by Willamette Writers. His fifth book in the series, Blood for Wine, was short-listed for the coveted Nero Wolfe Award and his eighth book, No Witness, won the Spotted Owl Award for the best mystery written by an author living in the greater Northwest, including Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
May 16, 2021
Calvin (Cal) Claxton is a retired LA prosecutor who has relocated to Oregon to get away from his rat race of a career. Now settled in Dundee, Cal sets up shop – a one-man law practice.
Struggling to make a go with his practice, Cal is approached one day by Danny (Picasso) Baxter, a homeless teen who wants Cal to investigate the murder of his mother, Nicole Baxter.
Not wanting to get involved in a “charity” case, Cal initially turns Picasso down only to end up feeling guilty about his refusal to help the teen. As a result, Cal changes his mind and takes on the investigation only to discover that he might have taken on more than he bargained for.
Matters of Doubt was an exciting novel and the story is told in the first person by the lead protagonist — a straight shooter with a soft spot. The other characters in the novel are colorful and interesting. Some characters were amusing, and others suspicious.
The plot is a little complex in that there are several storylines going on simultaneously. Eventually, those stories blended together for a surprising conclusion.
Overall, Matters of Doubt is an excellent startup novel for a series that I am sure I won’t want to miss. Five surprising stars.
I received a digital ARC from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Struggling to make a go with his practice, Cal is approached one day by Danny (Picasso) Baxter, a homeless teen who wants Cal to investigate the murder of his mother, Nicole Baxter.
Not wanting to get involved in a “charity” case, Cal initially turns Picasso down only to end up feeling guilty about his refusal to help the teen. As a result, Cal changes his mind and takes on the investigation only to discover that he might have taken on more than he bargained for.
Matters of Doubt was an exciting novel and the story is told in the first person by the lead protagonist — a straight shooter with a soft spot. The other characters in the novel are colorful and interesting. Some characters were amusing, and others suspicious.
The plot is a little complex in that there are several storylines going on simultaneously. Eventually, those stories blended together for a surprising conclusion.
Overall, Matters of Doubt is an excellent startup novel for a series that I am sure I won’t want to miss. Five surprising stars.
I received a digital ARC from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
August 19, 2019
"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." Martin Luther King
Warren Easley's debut novel in his Cal Claxton series incorporates pressing social issues including homelessness, drug abuse and lack of affordable health care into this meandering murder mystery. Since homelessness is widespread and growing, I don't know why it was a surprise to me that beautiful Portland, Oregon where the book takes place also deals with this serious issue.
Cal Claxton, a small town lawyer, escapes to Dundee, Oregon near Portland after surviving a hectic job as a prosecutor in L.A. and following a personal tragedy in his life. He just needs to have enough clients to pay his bills and enough free time to do a little fishing. Of course, "the best laid plans . . ." - and thus begins the mystery.
Claxton becomes entangled in a cold case going back eight years when he reluctantly agrees to help a young homeless artist, Danny Baxter, aka Picasso, find who murdered his mother.
The book is rife with quirky characters - Nando, a Cuban exile, private investigator and epicure whose meals are described in mouth watering detail; Picasso, a young muralist whose massive works adorn buildings; Semyon, a Russian tough guy; Bambi - well you can guess at that one, and on and on. I counted twenty-five or more, all of them memorable.
However, the plotting is all over the place with one unsolved murder leading to another and another and my head started to swim trying to piece together who murdered whom and why.
That being said, I enjoyed this light mystery because of the beautiful setting, vividly described meals, quirky characters and emphasis on social issues, especially homelessness and lack of affordable health care for all. In the book, the young muralist, Picasso, includes the above quote by King in his mural painted on the side of a free health care clinic.
I commend Warren Easely for making pressing social issues forefront in this book. In his acknowledgments Easely says, "Finally, to the tough, courageous homeless kids in Portland, I say, keep the faith. There will be a better day."
One less murder would have made this a 4 star book, but it deserves at least 3.5.
Warren Easley's debut novel in his Cal Claxton series incorporates pressing social issues including homelessness, drug abuse and lack of affordable health care into this meandering murder mystery. Since homelessness is widespread and growing, I don't know why it was a surprise to me that beautiful Portland, Oregon where the book takes place also deals with this serious issue.
Cal Claxton, a small town lawyer, escapes to Dundee, Oregon near Portland after surviving a hectic job as a prosecutor in L.A. and following a personal tragedy in his life. He just needs to have enough clients to pay his bills and enough free time to do a little fishing. Of course, "the best laid plans . . ." - and thus begins the mystery.
Claxton becomes entangled in a cold case going back eight years when he reluctantly agrees to help a young homeless artist, Danny Baxter, aka Picasso, find who murdered his mother.
The book is rife with quirky characters - Nando, a Cuban exile, private investigator and epicure whose meals are described in mouth watering detail; Picasso, a young muralist whose massive works adorn buildings; Semyon, a Russian tough guy; Bambi - well you can guess at that one, and on and on. I counted twenty-five or more, all of them memorable.
However, the plotting is all over the place with one unsolved murder leading to another and another and my head started to swim trying to piece together who murdered whom and why.
That being said, I enjoyed this light mystery because of the beautiful setting, vividly described meals, quirky characters and emphasis on social issues, especially homelessness and lack of affordable health care for all. In the book, the young muralist, Picasso, includes the above quote by King in his mural painted on the side of a free health care clinic.
I commend Warren Easely for making pressing social issues forefront in this book. In his acknowledgments Easely says, "Finally, to the tough, courageous homeless kids in Portland, I say, keep the faith. There will be a better day."
One less murder would have made this a 4 star book, but it deserves at least 3.5.
June 10, 2021
Matters of Doubt is the first of eight Cal Claxton novels, originally published between 2013 and 2018, now being republished by Poisoned Pen Press. The other books in the series include Dead Float (#2), Never Look Down (#3), Dead Enough (#4), Blood for Wine (#5), Moving Targets (#6), No Way to Die (#7), and No Witness (#8).
Although the lead character, Cal Claxton, is a lawyer, this is by no means a legal thriller in the classic Perry Mason sense with courtroom drama and intense cross-examination. In fact, other than a bit of background, Claxton acts far more like an amateur private eye than an attorney. Claxton has as his background being a hard-charging Los Angeles prosecutor who did not realize his wife was severely depressed until she committed suicide. Despondent over the loss, Claxton decided a change of scenery would be the thing for him and up and moved to Dundee, a rural, wine country town, an hour out of Portland, where he set up a barely-functional one-man law shop.
The setting is important because there are few crime stories set in Portland and Easley gives us a Portland suffering from its tremendous homeless problem with encampments throughout Old Town and in set -aside makeshift campgrounds. This was, of course, written in 2013 long before 2020 brought Portland nightly riots and a soaring crime rate that belied its soft Northwest rainy laidback attitude.
Claxton is a soft touch in this the first novel in the series and he finds himself basically working pro bono (for free) for a homeless tattooed youth whose became homeless after his ace reporter mother disappeared and no one seemed to care. With the recent discovery of her body but no enthusiasm from the police for finding the culprit, Picasso (as he likes to be called) calls upon Claxton, who at first turns down the hopeless youth, but later has a change of heart and tracks him down to a free clinic in the downtown area where Picasso is painting a mural and Claxton starts falling for a young doctor who is also suffering from family loss.
Much of the book gives a sympathetic portrayal of the homeless throwaway youth suffering from mental problems and drug addiction and the difficulties of getting them to get on the right path. Indeed, here, Claxton is determined to believe in Picasso even when the entire city is out to string him up for murder and the evidence arrayed against Picasso is getting rather strong.
There is a joy in the writing which brings Claxton and the other characters to life, including his concern over his ever-present dog.
Although the lead character, Cal Claxton, is a lawyer, this is by no means a legal thriller in the classic Perry Mason sense with courtroom drama and intense cross-examination. In fact, other than a bit of background, Claxton acts far more like an amateur private eye than an attorney. Claxton has as his background being a hard-charging Los Angeles prosecutor who did not realize his wife was severely depressed until she committed suicide. Despondent over the loss, Claxton decided a change of scenery would be the thing for him and up and moved to Dundee, a rural, wine country town, an hour out of Portland, where he set up a barely-functional one-man law shop.
The setting is important because there are few crime stories set in Portland and Easley gives us a Portland suffering from its tremendous homeless problem with encampments throughout Old Town and in set -aside makeshift campgrounds. This was, of course, written in 2013 long before 2020 brought Portland nightly riots and a soaring crime rate that belied its soft Northwest rainy laidback attitude.
Claxton is a soft touch in this the first novel in the series and he finds himself basically working pro bono (for free) for a homeless tattooed youth whose became homeless after his ace reporter mother disappeared and no one seemed to care. With the recent discovery of her body but no enthusiasm from the police for finding the culprit, Picasso (as he likes to be called) calls upon Claxton, who at first turns down the hopeless youth, but later has a change of heart and tracks him down to a free clinic in the downtown area where Picasso is painting a mural and Claxton starts falling for a young doctor who is also suffering from family loss.
Much of the book gives a sympathetic portrayal of the homeless throwaway youth suffering from mental problems and drug addiction and the difficulties of getting them to get on the right path. Indeed, here, Claxton is determined to believe in Picasso even when the entire city is out to string him up for murder and the evidence arrayed against Picasso is getting rather strong.
There is a joy in the writing which brings Claxton and the other characters to life, including his concern over his ever-present dog.
November 4, 2020
A small time lawyer acting like a P.I.
An easy enough read but nothing too exciting.
You can tell this was the authors first book.
The characters were straight out of central casting. They lacked energy and were too cliche. The story was formulaic and unadventurous.
I'll give book 2 a try but it has to be an improvement or i will stop with the series.
An easy enough read but nothing too exciting.
You can tell this was the authors first book.
The characters were straight out of central casting. They lacked energy and were too cliche. The story was formulaic and unadventurous.
I'll give book 2 a try but it has to be an improvement or i will stop with the series.
July 2, 2021
Once again, I have found a new to me writer of mysteries. WARREN EASLEY, who lives in the state of Oregon in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, introduces Cal Claxton and his world in a series that begins with MATTERS OF DOUBT.
Claxton retired from his position as a prosecuting attorney for the city of Los Angeles after a career of two decades. He moves to Dundee Oregon (in Oregon wine country near Portland) after his wife commits suicide and opens a one-man law office. He has a daughter, Claire, who is attending college in California. Archie, an Australian shepherd (dog), keeps Cal company. That alone is a big plus because I love dogs. He lives on a five-acre parcel on a hilltop overlooking Dundee and the Willamette Valley wineries. If you are interested, they are really good wines! Cal is also an experienced fly angler, another plus.
One day a young man on a bicycle shows up at his office. His name is Danny Baxter (known on the streets as Picasso for good reason). The body of his mother Nicole Baxter had been found in a reservoir on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. Nicole had been a reporter for The Oregonian, Portland’s major newspaper, when she had disappeared eight years earlier. She had been working on a major expose but nobody knew what the subject was. Danny tells Cal that because he is homeless, the police have no interest in investigating the cold case murder. He asks Cal to help him find the killer. Initially, Cal turns him down because it is not his field. Eventually, Cal realizes that he should help 20-year-old Danny.
The reader is introduced to Hernando (“Nando”) Mendoza, a Cuban exile/entrepreneur and close friend living in Portland. One of his businesses is private investigation. He and Cal love to dine at Pambiche, an actual Cuban restaurant in Portland. A doctor, Anna, running a free medical clinic for the homeless provides Cal with a romantic interest. Lieutenant Harmon Scott and Detective Aldus Jones provide the police presence. Gertrude Johnson is Cal’s neighbor and accountant who tries to keep Cal in funds. Joey is a homeless friend of Danny who has PTSD and is another lost soul Cal tries to help. “X-man” is an anonymous source who had been helping Nicole on her expose story.
On the villain side of the coin are several unsavory types. Larry Vincent is a right wing extremist radio personality with a shady past. Mitchell Conyers is a restauranteur with places in Portland, Seattle and California. He was Nicole’s “boyfriend” at the time of her disappearance. Seth Foster is Mitchell’s stepbrother and has a vicious temper. Jessica Armandy runs an “escort” (prostitution) business using Mitchell’s steak house in Portland as her base of operations. Hugo Weiman is a major political power broker in Oregon. It was on his property in Central Oregon that Nicole’s body was found. There are several murders during the course of the story. Are they related to Nicole’s disappearance? Some those victims are also major suspects in Cal’s investigation.
Howard Krebbs and Milo Dorfman are workers at Anna’s medical clinic who play major roles in the story. Cynthia Duncan is an investigative reporter for a small Portland newspaper who Cal enlists to help him.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for mystery lovers. Great characters.
GO! BUY! READ!
Claxton retired from his position as a prosecuting attorney for the city of Los Angeles after a career of two decades. He moves to Dundee Oregon (in Oregon wine country near Portland) after his wife commits suicide and opens a one-man law office. He has a daughter, Claire, who is attending college in California. Archie, an Australian shepherd (dog), keeps Cal company. That alone is a big plus because I love dogs. He lives on a five-acre parcel on a hilltop overlooking Dundee and the Willamette Valley wineries. If you are interested, they are really good wines! Cal is also an experienced fly angler, another plus.
One day a young man on a bicycle shows up at his office. His name is Danny Baxter (known on the streets as Picasso for good reason). The body of his mother Nicole Baxter had been found in a reservoir on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. Nicole had been a reporter for The Oregonian, Portland’s major newspaper, when she had disappeared eight years earlier. She had been working on a major expose but nobody knew what the subject was. Danny tells Cal that because he is homeless, the police have no interest in investigating the cold case murder. He asks Cal to help him find the killer. Initially, Cal turns him down because it is not his field. Eventually, Cal realizes that he should help 20-year-old Danny.
The reader is introduced to Hernando (“Nando”) Mendoza, a Cuban exile/entrepreneur and close friend living in Portland. One of his businesses is private investigation. He and Cal love to dine at Pambiche, an actual Cuban restaurant in Portland. A doctor, Anna, running a free medical clinic for the homeless provides Cal with a romantic interest. Lieutenant Harmon Scott and Detective Aldus Jones provide the police presence. Gertrude Johnson is Cal’s neighbor and accountant who tries to keep Cal in funds. Joey is a homeless friend of Danny who has PTSD and is another lost soul Cal tries to help. “X-man” is an anonymous source who had been helping Nicole on her expose story.
On the villain side of the coin are several unsavory types. Larry Vincent is a right wing extremist radio personality with a shady past. Mitchell Conyers is a restauranteur with places in Portland, Seattle and California. He was Nicole’s “boyfriend” at the time of her disappearance. Seth Foster is Mitchell’s stepbrother and has a vicious temper. Jessica Armandy runs an “escort” (prostitution) business using Mitchell’s steak house in Portland as her base of operations. Hugo Weiman is a major political power broker in Oregon. It was on his property in Central Oregon that Nicole’s body was found. There are several murders during the course of the story. Are they related to Nicole’s disappearance? Some those victims are also major suspects in Cal’s investigation.
Howard Krebbs and Milo Dorfman are workers at Anna’s medical clinic who play major roles in the story. Cynthia Duncan is an investigative reporter for a small Portland newspaper who Cal enlists to help him.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for mystery lovers. Great characters.
GO! BUY! READ!
June 8, 2021
After his wife's suicide, Cal Claxton moved out of Los Angeles where he once was a leading prosecutor and finding himself in an old farmhouse in Oregon.
A kid shows up at his door one day asking for help-- .. he wants Cal to help solve his mother's murder. .which is now a cold case file.
The boy, Picasso, is a young determined street kid, who is also a gifted graffiti artist. Accepting Picasso as a client, Cal finds himself back in the big games when Picasso is arrested and charged with the murder of his mother's former boyfriend.
Cal finds himself up against the police, the media, a cage fighter, and some of the most powerful citizens.
Not only does Cal have to free Picasso from jail and murder charges, he needs to solve the case of the boy's murdered mother, but also of the murdered boyfriend.
Action filled suspense from start to finish, there are breath-taking twists and turns leading the way to a unexpected conclusion. Suspects are many and varied. Characters are deftly drawn. This is the 1st book in this series ... there are 7 more .. most are available now.. no waiting. This looks to be a riveting series, following Claxton on his further cases.
Many thanks to the author / Poisoned Pen Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed are unbiased and entirely my own.
A kid shows up at his door one day asking for help-- .. he wants Cal to help solve his mother's murder. .which is now a cold case file.
The boy, Picasso, is a young determined street kid, who is also a gifted graffiti artist. Accepting Picasso as a client, Cal finds himself back in the big games when Picasso is arrested and charged with the murder of his mother's former boyfriend.
Cal finds himself up against the police, the media, a cage fighter, and some of the most powerful citizens.
Not only does Cal have to free Picasso from jail and murder charges, he needs to solve the case of the boy's murdered mother, but also of the murdered boyfriend.
Action filled suspense from start to finish, there are breath-taking twists and turns leading the way to a unexpected conclusion. Suspects are many and varied. Characters are deftly drawn. This is the 1st book in this series ... there are 7 more .. most are available now.. no waiting. This looks to be a riveting series, following Claxton on his further cases.
Many thanks to the author / Poisoned Pen Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed are unbiased and entirely my own.
June 29, 2017
DNF...the characters were all out of Central Casting (Hooker with a Heart of Gold, Wise, Saintly Street Kid, Conservative Cretins). Halfway through I was tired of the liberal agenda coming off the pages. Just tell a decent story and leave the propaganda out.
June 13, 2021
“Matters of Doubt” the first book in the “Cal Claxton Oregon Mystery” series, has been reissued; within a few pages new readers know everything needed to follow along with the narrative. The story unfolds in Calvin Claxton’s first person narrative, a transplant from Los Angeles who runs a one-man law practice in the small town of Dundee, Oregon. He came to Oregon to find some kind of order, some peace in his life, and shares his tranquil existence with his Australian shepherd, Archie. Immediately he conveys his feel for people, his appreciation for geography, and his general philosophy of life – he would rather be fishing. The plot is driven by his conversations, observations, and self-examination. (“Who was I kidding?”)
Danny Baxter arrives on a bicycle offering to pay Cal to find the person who murdered his mother. (Cal is not sure how he will pay, but the boy offers.) Baxter lives on the streets, and everyone calls him “Picasso” because he is an accomplished muralist. His mother disappeared several years ago, and her remains turned up in a reservoir. Initially Cal turns down the case, but research and the boy, himself, cause Cal to look more deeply into the case. What he finds is intricate, puzzling, and very complicated. Nicole Baxter’s boyfriend was the initial suspect in the murder, but that went nowhere. Baxter was a reporter working on a “big” story. Was that related to her death? Another death complicates things, and then yet another. Is this just coincidence or something more sinister? Everyone makes mistakes, good people, bad people, innocent people, and guilty ones, but perhaps there are certain people whom one should not cross.
Easley weaves complicated issues into the story including underage homelessness, street art, and artists. The narrative is organized and structured; the investigation is methodical, but even Cal finds the unexpected along the way. I received a review copy of Matters of Doubt” from Warren C. Easley, Sourcebooks, and Poisoned Pen Press. It is quick to read with likeable characters, plenty of suspense, and lots of compassion.
Danny Baxter arrives on a bicycle offering to pay Cal to find the person who murdered his mother. (Cal is not sure how he will pay, but the boy offers.) Baxter lives on the streets, and everyone calls him “Picasso” because he is an accomplished muralist. His mother disappeared several years ago, and her remains turned up in a reservoir. Initially Cal turns down the case, but research and the boy, himself, cause Cal to look more deeply into the case. What he finds is intricate, puzzling, and very complicated. Nicole Baxter’s boyfriend was the initial suspect in the murder, but that went nowhere. Baxter was a reporter working on a “big” story. Was that related to her death? Another death complicates things, and then yet another. Is this just coincidence or something more sinister? Everyone makes mistakes, good people, bad people, innocent people, and guilty ones, but perhaps there are certain people whom one should not cross.
Easley weaves complicated issues into the story including underage homelessness, street art, and artists. The narrative is organized and structured; the investigation is methodical, but even Cal finds the unexpected along the way. I received a review copy of Matters of Doubt” from Warren C. Easley, Sourcebooks, and Poisoned Pen Press. It is quick to read with likeable characters, plenty of suspense, and lots of compassion.
December 26, 2021
Warren C. Easley's Matters of Doubt is a solid, original mystery—no wonder Poisoned Pen Press has chosen to reissue this 2013 title. The novel, set in Portland Oregon, features Cal Caxton, a former LA prosecutor who has retired and moved north. He didn't retire rich, and his new, small law practice is hovers on the brink of bankruptcy. Given the genre, this, of course, means that an impoverished client shows up at Claxton's door, and Claxton takes on the case. Picasso, the young, quick-to-anger, homeless man (and exceptionally gifted artist) who becomes Claxton's client, wants to know who killed his mother when Picasso was just a child. Her body has been recently found, and Picasso wants the justice she didn't receive the first time around.
The novel abounds in suspects—a restaurateur, turned blackmailer; a wealthy lobbyist, and a right-wing radio personality—every one of whom is in a position to make Claxton's life very uncomfortable. Claxton's sidekicks—a Cuban refugee turned capitalist-private-investigator and a doctor running a clinic for homeless youth—add to the novel's twists and provide interesting alternative perspectives as events unfold. Given the characters and setting, Matters of Doubt resonates even more today than it probably did upon release, given last year's violent altercations between police, protestors, and counter-protestors in Portland.
Matters of Doubt provides a deeply satisfying read. If you read mysteries, check out this title, the look for further Cal Claxton titles released from Poisoned Pen Press in the future.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
The novel abounds in suspects—a restaurateur, turned blackmailer; a wealthy lobbyist, and a right-wing radio personality—every one of whom is in a position to make Claxton's life very uncomfortable. Claxton's sidekicks—a Cuban refugee turned capitalist-private-investigator and a doctor running a clinic for homeless youth—add to the novel's twists and provide interesting alternative perspectives as events unfold. Given the characters and setting, Matters of Doubt resonates even more today than it probably did upon release, given last year's violent altercations between police, protestors, and counter-protestors in Portland.
Matters of Doubt provides a deeply satisfying read. If you read mysteries, check out this title, the look for further Cal Claxton titles released from Poisoned Pen Press in the future.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
January 26, 2014
First time for this author. Good read and held my interest. Placed in Portland, nice to read something not in the east coast.
March 5, 2017
I enjoyed reading a book set in the Pacific NW - and by a northwest author. The story was interesting and well-written. I definitely will read more of this series
April 13, 2021
3 stars
A condescending MC narrates this book in a 1st person voice I found a bit annoying to read, but I did appreciate the character development of Picasso (the other MC), & the mystery is well constructed. This would have been 3.5 or 4 stars if I better liked Cal, the MC/narrator.
[What I liked:]
•I think Picasso, the young man Cal is legally representing, is a well developed character, nuanced & not clichéd. He lives on the street/in a homeless encampment by choice though he has resources. He’s troubled & lacking some stability, yet is a very reliable & integral part of his community. He has goals & dreams he’s working towards, & just has an unconventional path to get there. He’s resilient, compassionate but not a pushover, makes some reckless choices yet has a good head on his shoulders, & is admirably dedicated to his art. I found him a very likable character despite his flaws & appreciated his complexity as a human being.
•The mystery is layered and an interesting case.
•I liked Anna & Cal’s unfolding relationship. It added some depth to the otherwise action-packed plot.
[What I didn’t like as much:]
•I’m not a huge fan of 1st person narration usually, & I didn’t particularly like the voice/style of the narrator in this book. I can’t put my finger on why, it felt a bit forced or artificial. It’s mainly down to my personal preference for 3rd person narration though, so don’t mind me.
•Cal the narrator, but also most of the over-30 adults in this book, have a very irksome attitude towards the youth: a “young people these days, what’s the world coming to” mentality. They’re super judgmental of people with tattoos for no good reason, tend to assume young people are drug users for no good reason, & it comes across as condescending & just plain rude. I get that Cal is a middle aged, strait laced, white dude lawyer type, so maybe it’s supposed to be his characterization & not the message of the book, but his judgmental attitude doesn’t endear him to me as a character at all, even though he does have some character growth in this area.
•Cal also lost sympathy points from me because of his attitude towards Picasso. He doesn’t seem too devoted to actually helping Picasso get justice. He has an attitude of “I guess I’ll be a do-gooding savior for this undeserving street kid out of a vague sense of guilt, because I’ve been roped into it against my better judgment & also because it might help me score with a love interest who actually does care”. This also made him seem condescending.
•For a lawyer with loads of experience as a high-profile public prosecutor, Cal doesn’t take the law/legal procedure very seriously. He finds a dead body, enters what he believes is a crime scene & pockets evidence, wipes his fingerprints, & goes on his merry way without notifying the police until it’s convenient for him. It doesn’t paint him as an upstanding citizen.
•I found Nando an annoying, slightly abrasive character. Partly because there were boringly detailed descriptions of food whenever he showed up.
CW: suicide, murder, drug abuse, drug overdose, mentions of domestic violence, PTSD, bigotry towards homeless people, eating disorder, police brutality
[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]
A condescending MC narrates this book in a 1st person voice I found a bit annoying to read, but I did appreciate the character development of Picasso (the other MC), & the mystery is well constructed. This would have been 3.5 or 4 stars if I better liked Cal, the MC/narrator.
[What I liked:]
•I think Picasso, the young man Cal is legally representing, is a well developed character, nuanced & not clichéd. He lives on the street/in a homeless encampment by choice though he has resources. He’s troubled & lacking some stability, yet is a very reliable & integral part of his community. He has goals & dreams he’s working towards, & just has an unconventional path to get there. He’s resilient, compassionate but not a pushover, makes some reckless choices yet has a good head on his shoulders, & is admirably dedicated to his art. I found him a very likable character despite his flaws & appreciated his complexity as a human being.
•The mystery is layered and an interesting case.
•I liked Anna & Cal’s unfolding relationship. It added some depth to the otherwise action-packed plot.
[What I didn’t like as much:]
•I’m not a huge fan of 1st person narration usually, & I didn’t particularly like the voice/style of the narrator in this book. I can’t put my finger on why, it felt a bit forced or artificial. It’s mainly down to my personal preference for 3rd person narration though, so don’t mind me.
•Cal the narrator, but also most of the over-30 adults in this book, have a very irksome attitude towards the youth: a “young people these days, what’s the world coming to” mentality. They’re super judgmental of people with tattoos for no good reason, tend to assume young people are drug users for no good reason, & it comes across as condescending & just plain rude. I get that Cal is a middle aged, strait laced, white dude lawyer type, so maybe it’s supposed to be his characterization & not the message of the book, but his judgmental attitude doesn’t endear him to me as a character at all, even though he does have some character growth in this area.
•Cal also lost sympathy points from me because of his attitude towards Picasso. He doesn’t seem too devoted to actually helping Picasso get justice. He has an attitude of “I guess I’ll be a do-gooding savior for this undeserving street kid out of a vague sense of guilt, because I’ve been roped into it against my better judgment & also because it might help me score with a love interest who actually does care”. This also made him seem condescending.
•For a lawyer with loads of experience as a high-profile public prosecutor, Cal doesn’t take the law/legal procedure very seriously. He finds a dead body, enters what he believes is a crime scene & pockets evidence, wipes his fingerprints, & goes on his merry way without notifying the police until it’s convenient for him. It doesn’t paint him as an upstanding citizen.
•I found Nando an annoying, slightly abrasive character. Partly because there were boringly detailed descriptions of food whenever he showed up.
CW: suicide, murder, drug abuse, drug overdose, mentions of domestic violence, PTSD, bigotry towards homeless people, eating disorder, police brutality
[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]
April 21, 2023
DNF. This author clearly does not like capitalism, conservatism, or traditional law enforcement. Instead of letting the story tell itself, Easley takes subtle jabs at local politics that were rather off-putting. One of the main suspects in the story is a talk radio host who is clearly modeled after a well known Oregonian talking head. He is portrayed in the worst possible light with no redeeming qualities and it's honestly rather insulting. I felt bad for the real guy after reading the fake guy.
Props for making this feel very Northwestern in style. But that's about it...
Props for making this feel very Northwestern in style. But that's about it...
June 18, 2024
I have now read all of the series. This is the first book in the series but I read it last. I actually listened to it on audible. I didn’t love the narration but I enjoyed the introduction to Cal and all of the other characters that are in the series.
September 6, 2013
There don’t appear to be many current crime novels set in Portland, Oregon. This is one. Oregon and the city of Portland in particular, often take a more relaxed position on all sorts of social situations that beset our current society. In this case, it’s the city’s tolerance of homeless folks. The novel purports to be a legal thriller and there is a good deal of legal maneuvering, especially with regard to relations between the accused homeless painter with the street name Picasso, and our protagonist, California transplant and ex-district attorney, Cal Claxton.
Muralist Picasso is being looked at hard by the Portland cops for the murder of Picasso’s mother’s boyfriend. It seems Picasso’s mother went missing eight years ago and her body has just turned up. Her son wants her murderer brought to justice. Lawyer Claxton, a sucker for the down and almost out, soon gets involved. He encounters some interesting characters at a free clinic and elsewhere in Portland. Some of the characters have intriguing potential, but there’s a curious lack of follow-through in several instances.
Then there’s the dog, Archie. Cal Claxton’s boon companion. “He’s as fine a companion as any human could hope for.” That’s a clue to the secondary focus of this plot. Archie has a great deal to do, both positively and negatively, with the way this story plays out.
Apart from a couple of time-line missteps and repetitious phrases, the book is well and concisely written. “Matters Of Doubt,” is not a thrilling, gut-grabbing story that will live in your memory for a long time after you close the book, but it’s okay and Cal Claxton, rural Oregon lawyer, and his dog, Archie, have some potential.
I note a copy of the novel was supplied to me by the publisher at no cost.
December 1, 2022
Full disclosure:
I normally don't read mystery thrillers, and I've known Warren Easley since I was in grade school.
Also, I had really wanted to fall in love with this book.
The author certainly knows how to write. I enjoyed the "hard-boiled crime" voice of this novel and the author's use of the Pacific Northwest setting.
But I'd like to see more from this author, and I do mean more—more character development, more depth of storytelling, more plot messy-ness. For me, there was too much in this book that was abrupt, almost as if shortcuts had been taken in the storytelling, and what was left was often unsatisfying—too much "tell" and not enough "show." I began to suspect that there was a lot of story happening off the page—for instance, the weaving in of character backstories—and I would have rather experienced it on the page as the story unfolded. There were some timeline and verb tense problems and inconsistencies in the level of detail offered. In the end the antagonist's motivations didn't make sense. Everything seemed to get wrapped up in a shiny bow at the conclusion, but there were holes in logic.
This book felt like it was a second or third draft, not quite ready for publication but definitely headed in that direction. I'd love to see Easley cut loose in his future works—of which I hope there are many—as he cultivates this new career as a storyteller.
I normally don't read mystery thrillers, and I've known Warren Easley since I was in grade school.
Also, I had really wanted to fall in love with this book.
The author certainly knows how to write. I enjoyed the "hard-boiled crime" voice of this novel and the author's use of the Pacific Northwest setting.
But I'd like to see more from this author, and I do mean more—more character development, more depth of storytelling, more plot messy-ness. For me, there was too much in this book that was abrupt, almost as if shortcuts had been taken in the storytelling, and what was left was often unsatisfying—too much "tell" and not enough "show." I began to suspect that there was a lot of story happening off the page—for instance, the weaving in of character backstories—and I would have rather experienced it on the page as the story unfolded. There were some timeline and verb tense problems and inconsistencies in the level of detail offered. In the end the antagonist's motivations didn't make sense. Everything seemed to get wrapped up in a shiny bow at the conclusion, but there were holes in logic.
This book felt like it was a second or third draft, not quite ready for publication but definitely headed in that direction. I'd love to see Easley cut loose in his future works—of which I hope there are many—as he cultivates this new career as a storyteller.
April 18, 2018
Fast-paced and following hard-boiled detective traditions, "Matters of Doubt," the first in the Cal Claxton series, distinguishes itself mainly in its gritty, grungy Portland surroundings. The characters and the general plot are boilerplate, and if you have a problem with a left-leaning crusader sticking up for the underprivileged against dastardly land developers and Rush Limbaugh-style shock jocks, this book won't be for you. Overall, a fun read, if not a very original mystery -- I look forward to reading more in the series to see if Claxton (and Easley's writing) further develops.
April 22, 2024
Fun, well executed start of Easley's 10 book, murder mystery series. The constant Portland call outs are terrific (I live in Oregon), and the food focus is fun, too -- there are a couple of restaurants I will try, if they actually exist. Easley really did his home work to add authenticity as the plot revolves around Portland's gritty urban life (re homeless, drugs, prostitution). While murder mysteries aren't a regular read for me, at all, I will look forward to reading the next one.
July 10, 2023
Takes place in Portland, OR! Fun to read about a murder mystery in our own backyard. Homeless issues, and other intrigues. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to ready more of the series.
October 19, 2021
DNF got to page 90 and couldn’t go any further. Not a lover of first person novels but I gave it a go! Just couldn’t connect to the characters and couldn’t get immersed into the writing style
June 14, 2020
SPOILER ALERT
As the beginning installment of the Cal Claxton series this is very well done. As an attorney who has a home in Dundee, he calls Aerie, he is a former Asst DA from LA who packed it in looking for a more calm and peaceful life. Cal is approached by a 20-yea-old, tattooed, homeless youth, Picasso/Danny Baxter, who wants him to find the person who killed his mother Nicole. ( He also gains the name snake boy as he has a menacing coral snake around his neck.) His mother had been missing for eight years and her remains had been recently found in Jefferson County. Danny believes she was killed by Mitchell Conyers, her boyfriend. The police are not pushing it. Danny is an outdoor art, muralist, who has been hired by a free clinic to do a mural that is focused on health care. It consists of a stream of famous people coming downb from Mt. Hood. The head of the clinic is Dr. Anna Eriksen, who Cal eventually begins a relationship with. Later when Danny goes to confront Conyers he is found murdered, and Danny hides the screwdriver that killed him, that was Danny's, when he realizes that he is being set up. He had had a confrontation with Conyers at his mother's funeral so he is the perfect patsy.
This is a complicated story with numerous players who could have killed Nicole. She was an investigative journalist for the Oregonian, and was purportedly working on a big story. Though at first Cal refuses, he goes through the extensive documents that Danny hands him. He enlists the help of his Cuban exile friend, Hernando Mendoza, Nando. Further research through her best friend Cynthia Duncan, another journalist working for Zenith, reveals that a local shock jock DJ, Larry Vincent, working for KPOC radio had had an appointment with her after her death, and that rumors have it he had an affair with a teenager which was swept under the rug. His show is far right and advocates for getting rid of all the homeless and the liberals who like them.
Nicole had an affair with Hugo Weiman, a lobbyist, who was shot in the hand on the day Nicole disappeared. Her remains were found on his property. Toward the end we find that contrary to the report, he was not shot in Portland, but his wife had gone to the fishing cabin property, shot Nicole and then tried to kill her husband. They had tried to pay off the maid, Maris Escobar, and the gardener also knew that the "accident" had not happened in PDX. Weiman kills himself when he confronted by Cal and realizes that the truth is going to come out.
There is the Happy Angus restaurant that Conyers owned along with several others. His step-brother Seth Foster has come to PDX to run them. Affiliated with this enterprise is Jessica Armandy who runs an escort service out of the restaurant. Her bodyguard is Semyon a huge Russian with whom Cal has a couple of run ins. After the second one in which Cal breaks his jaw, they call a truce, which is the relationship that saves Cal's and Anna's lives later.
When Danny goes after Conyers, Jessica sees the perfect opportunity to frame him for Conyers murder, so that she can take over the restaurants, and expand her escort business, Eros Dreams, which makes much more money. The police find the screwdriver and arrest Danny for murder. In that scene Joey, Picasso's vet friend Joey with PTSD that Cal was also trying to help, intervenes and is shot along with Danny whose arm is badly damaged and nearly dies.
Armandy sets up Foster, who had loved and admired his step-brother. She urges him to go after Vincent, saying Vincent had killed Conyers, who had been blackmailing Vincent. Foster kills him. Then Armandy abducts Cal and Anna because they will not stop looking for the real killer to prove Danny innocent. Unfortunately for Jessica she thinks that Semyon is with her and brings him to help get rid of them. But Semyon turns on Howard Krebbs and his girl Twila Burgess, whom were hired to kill Conyers, setting them free. Twila accidently kills Krebbs. Semyon is shot but recovers.
In the end as all are celebrating, Cal talks Nando into renting him the Caffeine Central digs in PDX as an office for his new pursuit: helping the low income and homeless in PDX. He and Anna set off for the fjords of Norway. A thoroughly entertaining read; I love the familiarity of Portland and the surrounds (Lake Oswego, Dundee) as the venue, many of the sites known to me. Easley also fills the pages with luscious food descriptions at the various eateries that Nando and Cal love. The other additions that develop the charismatic character of Cal are his former wife's suicide, his Australian Shepherd Archie, his soft touch for the down and out and the kids, his love of fly fishing.
As the beginning installment of the Cal Claxton series this is very well done. As an attorney who has a home in Dundee, he calls Aerie, he is a former Asst DA from LA who packed it in looking for a more calm and peaceful life. Cal is approached by a 20-yea-old, tattooed, homeless youth, Picasso/Danny Baxter, who wants him to find the person who killed his mother Nicole. ( He also gains the name snake boy as he has a menacing coral snake around his neck.) His mother had been missing for eight years and her remains had been recently found in Jefferson County. Danny believes she was killed by Mitchell Conyers, her boyfriend. The police are not pushing it. Danny is an outdoor art, muralist, who has been hired by a free clinic to do a mural that is focused on health care. It consists of a stream of famous people coming downb from Mt. Hood. The head of the clinic is Dr. Anna Eriksen, who Cal eventually begins a relationship with. Later when Danny goes to confront Conyers he is found murdered, and Danny hides the screwdriver that killed him, that was Danny's, when he realizes that he is being set up. He had had a confrontation with Conyers at his mother's funeral so he is the perfect patsy.
This is a complicated story with numerous players who could have killed Nicole. She was an investigative journalist for the Oregonian, and was purportedly working on a big story. Though at first Cal refuses, he goes through the extensive documents that Danny hands him. He enlists the help of his Cuban exile friend, Hernando Mendoza, Nando. Further research through her best friend Cynthia Duncan, another journalist working for Zenith, reveals that a local shock jock DJ, Larry Vincent, working for KPOC radio had had an appointment with her after her death, and that rumors have it he had an affair with a teenager which was swept under the rug. His show is far right and advocates for getting rid of all the homeless and the liberals who like them.
Nicole had an affair with Hugo Weiman, a lobbyist, who was shot in the hand on the day Nicole disappeared. Her remains were found on his property. Toward the end we find that contrary to the report, he was not shot in Portland, but his wife had gone to the fishing cabin property, shot Nicole and then tried to kill her husband. They had tried to pay off the maid, Maris Escobar, and the gardener also knew that the "accident" had not happened in PDX. Weiman kills himself when he confronted by Cal and realizes that the truth is going to come out.
There is the Happy Angus restaurant that Conyers owned along with several others. His step-brother Seth Foster has come to PDX to run them. Affiliated with this enterprise is Jessica Armandy who runs an escort service out of the restaurant. Her bodyguard is Semyon a huge Russian with whom Cal has a couple of run ins. After the second one in which Cal breaks his jaw, they call a truce, which is the relationship that saves Cal's and Anna's lives later.
When Danny goes after Conyers, Jessica sees the perfect opportunity to frame him for Conyers murder, so that she can take over the restaurants, and expand her escort business, Eros Dreams, which makes much more money. The police find the screwdriver and arrest Danny for murder. In that scene Joey, Picasso's vet friend Joey with PTSD that Cal was also trying to help, intervenes and is shot along with Danny whose arm is badly damaged and nearly dies.
Armandy sets up Foster, who had loved and admired his step-brother. She urges him to go after Vincent, saying Vincent had killed Conyers, who had been blackmailing Vincent. Foster kills him. Then Armandy abducts Cal and Anna because they will not stop looking for the real killer to prove Danny innocent. Unfortunately for Jessica she thinks that Semyon is with her and brings him to help get rid of them. But Semyon turns on Howard Krebbs and his girl Twila Burgess, whom were hired to kill Conyers, setting them free. Twila accidently kills Krebbs. Semyon is shot but recovers.
In the end as all are celebrating, Cal talks Nando into renting him the Caffeine Central digs in PDX as an office for his new pursuit: helping the low income and homeless in PDX. He and Anna set off for the fjords of Norway. A thoroughly entertaining read; I love the familiarity of Portland and the surrounds (Lake Oswego, Dundee) as the venue, many of the sites known to me. Easley also fills the pages with luscious food descriptions at the various eateries that Nando and Cal love. The other additions that develop the charismatic character of Cal are his former wife's suicide, his Australian Shepherd Archie, his soft touch for the down and out and the kids, his love of fly fishing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2018
I highly recommend this novel and am looking forward to reading more of the Cal Claxton books. Warren Easley has a very nice franchise going with these Cal Claxton Mysteries, and now is the time for mystery fans to get in on the ground floor.
Cal Caxton, a lawyer who lives outside Portland Oregon in the small town of Dundee. Cal operates a modest one-man law practice, has a reputation for fairness, and a weakness for the poor and powerless at odds with an often cruel establishment. Cal has a dogged determination to do the very best for his clients regardless of the financial consequences to himself.
Cal gets sucked into a disheveled case that a young artistic homeless man, “Picasso” is trying to mount. Picasso thinks he has discovered the identity of the man who killed his mother, whose body had recently been found, years after she disappeared. Cal, reluctantly at first, looks into the case, but he suspects that it isn’t quite as simple as Picasso believes. There are other suspects, a menage of creeps; an owner of a restaurant in league with a madam whose girls work the bar, a Russian limo driver who is a martial arts expert, a shady real estate developer, a local Rush-want-to-be radio shock jock, and some others, hidden in plain sight.
The story begins slowly, as the characters and situation are laid out. It is an homage to Oregon and Portland as the scene is set with iconic perfection. The people, the food, the landmarks all have a part in this solid story. Cal, through Picasso, is pulled into the world of homeless people, to the refugee-like camp on the outskirts of town where Picasso, an orphan since his mother’s death, seeks refuge with an Iraq vet who suffers from PTSD.
The story’s moral framework is told with a strong, unrelenting social conscience. The path to justice is long, twisting and full of surprises. Portland is the constant star of the show and you get to see it’s underbelly, feel it physically, taste it, and meet its people. Some are just trying to get by, some trying to take advantage of their privileged positions, some are completely out of luck, and some are struggling to find ways to help and make the lives of the dispossessed better.
The middle of the book is the best part. Once the players and scene are laid out, the story takes off and is told with a brisk and naturalistic pace. It jams up a bit at the end, as the loose ends are being tied up, but there is a surprise or two waiting for the reader. The story is very well structured, at times almost too much so. It needs a little more random apeshitness, at least for my tastes. To that, his sometime investigator, Nando, a left-wing Cuban who hates Castro and loves money brings some spice and liveliness to the story. I hope we see more of him in future Claxton novels.
Cal himself is an interesting character. He is a lapidary kind of guy, who stays focused, keeps his head down, is a straight shooter, and a bit depressive, mostly because his wife committed suicide years ago. This partially explains his almost extreme concern for the underdog, as if he is trying to make up for what he thinks is his own insensitivity toward his wife’s hidden pain. He left his high flying life in Southern California to escape, but can’t because he blames himself for not seeing the signs of her depression. He gets laid occasionally and beat up more than once, but neither causes him lose his head. He is an American original, not weird or unhinged, but a straight-ahead guy in the mold of the great mid-20th century private eyes, particularly John MacDonald's Travis McGee.
Cal Caxton, a lawyer who lives outside Portland Oregon in the small town of Dundee. Cal operates a modest one-man law practice, has a reputation for fairness, and a weakness for the poor and powerless at odds with an often cruel establishment. Cal has a dogged determination to do the very best for his clients regardless of the financial consequences to himself.
Cal gets sucked into a disheveled case that a young artistic homeless man, “Picasso” is trying to mount. Picasso thinks he has discovered the identity of the man who killed his mother, whose body had recently been found, years after she disappeared. Cal, reluctantly at first, looks into the case, but he suspects that it isn’t quite as simple as Picasso believes. There are other suspects, a menage of creeps; an owner of a restaurant in league with a madam whose girls work the bar, a Russian limo driver who is a martial arts expert, a shady real estate developer, a local Rush-want-to-be radio shock jock, and some others, hidden in plain sight.
The story begins slowly, as the characters and situation are laid out. It is an homage to Oregon and Portland as the scene is set with iconic perfection. The people, the food, the landmarks all have a part in this solid story. Cal, through Picasso, is pulled into the world of homeless people, to the refugee-like camp on the outskirts of town where Picasso, an orphan since his mother’s death, seeks refuge with an Iraq vet who suffers from PTSD.
The story’s moral framework is told with a strong, unrelenting social conscience. The path to justice is long, twisting and full of surprises. Portland is the constant star of the show and you get to see it’s underbelly, feel it physically, taste it, and meet its people. Some are just trying to get by, some trying to take advantage of their privileged positions, some are completely out of luck, and some are struggling to find ways to help and make the lives of the dispossessed better.
The middle of the book is the best part. Once the players and scene are laid out, the story takes off and is told with a brisk and naturalistic pace. It jams up a bit at the end, as the loose ends are being tied up, but there is a surprise or two waiting for the reader. The story is very well structured, at times almost too much so. It needs a little more random apeshitness, at least for my tastes. To that, his sometime investigator, Nando, a left-wing Cuban who hates Castro and loves money brings some spice and liveliness to the story. I hope we see more of him in future Claxton novels.
Cal himself is an interesting character. He is a lapidary kind of guy, who stays focused, keeps his head down, is a straight shooter, and a bit depressive, mostly because his wife committed suicide years ago. This partially explains his almost extreme concern for the underdog, as if he is trying to make up for what he thinks is his own insensitivity toward his wife’s hidden pain. He left his high flying life in Southern California to escape, but can’t because he blames himself for not seeing the signs of her depression. He gets laid occasionally and beat up more than once, but neither causes him lose his head. He is an American original, not weird or unhinged, but a straight-ahead guy in the mold of the great mid-20th century private eyes, particularly John MacDonald's Travis McGee.
September 4, 2021
This is book one of a series that was originally published between 2013 and 2018. The books are being reissued - it's always nice to come across another series I've not read. For those interested, it's told in first person by the main character.
Former bigshot Los Angeles prosecutor Cal Claxton quits his job, moves to his cabin in Oregon, and hangs out a shingle as a small, solo legal operation after his wife commits suicide.
A young man appears in his office, asking Cal to find out who murdered his mother, an investigative journalist who was working on a big story. The man is homeless and an artist who goes by the name Picasso on the street. Cal brushes him off and Picasso angrily storms out of his office.
It wouldn't be a jaded prosecutor finding his heart if Cal doesn't change his mind, and so he does: he tracks down Picasso at a free clinic in Portland and offers to look into the circumstances surrounding the murder. Picasso has a ready-made villain in his mother's murder - specifically, he believes that his mother's boyfriend is the culprit. Cal has to rein him in a bit and caution him to not go after the man when there isn't enough evidence.
Unfortunately for Picasso,but good for the book, that man is found dead. By Picasso. Cal happens to be arriving at the house just as Picasso is leaving. Did he kill the boyfriend? I'm not giving it away.
Cal has people he can ask for help, including Nando, a Cuban emigre with a fashion sense that sounds like it would have been at home in the 70s (at least in my mind). Nando knows other people who have specialized skills, and al uses Nando a lot - but Nando doesn't work for free, and those ills start adding up.
Someone really wants to know what Cal is finding (or not) and Cal's laptop, his own clients' files, and Picasso's material that he had entrusted to Cal are stolen. The only thing he now has to go on are some of the notes he made and what he remembers from the files.
There's a romantic subplot involving the (obviously) super attractive doctor who runs the clinic. There's also some conflict with a woman who runs an escort service, one of her employees who wants to break free, and a giant Russian dude who doesn't like Cal all that much.
As Cal works his way through the case, we also get to see through his eyes various social issues: homelessness, inadequate healthcare, drug abuse, indifferent police officers, sex trafficking, a lack of mental health services, especially for veterans, and suicide by cop. Conservatives are not going to like these parts at all, so if you're in that group, you might want to pass on this one.
Cal also finds that there are multiple divergent paths on this case that dovetail into one by the end of the book.
I have a few issues with the book. One is Cal's name. Cal Claxton just doesn't roll off my tongue. Two, virtually every side character Cal encounters is quirky or weird. there are people in the world who are just normal people, working through their days. Three, how is it that Cal always seems to be around when a dead boy is discovered? It's rather odd, but maybe that's his quirk.
Three out of five stars.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
Former bigshot Los Angeles prosecutor Cal Claxton quits his job, moves to his cabin in Oregon, and hangs out a shingle as a small, solo legal operation after his wife commits suicide.
A young man appears in his office, asking Cal to find out who murdered his mother, an investigative journalist who was working on a big story. The man is homeless and an artist who goes by the name Picasso on the street. Cal brushes him off and Picasso angrily storms out of his office.
It wouldn't be a jaded prosecutor finding his heart if Cal doesn't change his mind, and so he does: he tracks down Picasso at a free clinic in Portland and offers to look into the circumstances surrounding the murder. Picasso has a ready-made villain in his mother's murder - specifically, he believes that his mother's boyfriend is the culprit. Cal has to rein him in a bit and caution him to not go after the man when there isn't enough evidence.
Unfortunately for Picasso,but good for the book, that man is found dead. By Picasso. Cal happens to be arriving at the house just as Picasso is leaving. Did he kill the boyfriend? I'm not giving it away.
Cal has people he can ask for help, including Nando, a Cuban emigre with a fashion sense that sounds like it would have been at home in the 70s (at least in my mind). Nando knows other people who have specialized skills, and al uses Nando a lot - but Nando doesn't work for free, and those ills start adding up.
Someone really wants to know what Cal is finding (or not) and Cal's laptop, his own clients' files, and Picasso's material that he had entrusted to Cal are stolen. The only thing he now has to go on are some of the notes he made and what he remembers from the files.
There's a romantic subplot involving the (obviously) super attractive doctor who runs the clinic. There's also some conflict with a woman who runs an escort service, one of her employees who wants to break free, and a giant Russian dude who doesn't like Cal all that much.
As Cal works his way through the case, we also get to see through his eyes various social issues: homelessness, inadequate healthcare, drug abuse, indifferent police officers, sex trafficking, a lack of mental health services, especially for veterans, and suicide by cop. Conservatives are not going to like these parts at all, so if you're in that group, you might want to pass on this one.
Cal also finds that there are multiple divergent paths on this case that dovetail into one by the end of the book.
I have a few issues with the book. One is Cal's name. Cal Claxton just doesn't roll off my tongue. Two, virtually every side character Cal encounters is quirky or weird. there are people in the world who are just normal people, working through their days. Three, how is it that Cal always seems to be around when a dead boy is discovered? It's rather odd, but maybe that's his quirk.
Three out of five stars.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
March 6, 2021
The book blurb (and multitude of reviews) summarize the plot more than adequetly so I won't rehash.
"Read" as an audio book.
I'll start with the narration as performed by Michael Kramer. If you've listened to some of Brandon Sanderson's books or the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan, you've heard Mr. Kramer. I quite enjoyed the sound of his voice, he adroitly managed different intonations for both the male and female characters, and had a good cadence which all made for an engaging reading experience.
I had stumbled across this book on Audible and was intrigued as I've bounced around the Portland and Dundee area and have relations living in Corvalis. I'm also well aware of Portland's (western Oregon, really) homeless concern so thought this could be an interesting book.
And it was, with some caveats. I'll start with - this is a first book and the book itself could have used a couple more rounds with an editor or proofreader. Two examples come to mind, calling a Glock 19 a revolver (it's not) and Anna putting a finger to her lips when her hands were tied behind her back. Glaring mistakes that could have been easily avoided.
I also found the lamentations about the homeless issue as relates to kids and Oregonian liberalism to be a bit heavy handed. I have talked to Oregonian's and while yes, homelessness is a concern (problem), it's not "just" kids, and many 20 year olds are doing it intentionally. It's a complex, complicated, and polarizing issue.
For a cozy mystery, I thought the murder mystery was overly complex and - I'm going to say it - unrealistic. Yes, yes, that's almost the definition of "cozy mystery". I think if the author had stuck to two main murders and hadn't expanded beyond that, this would have been a stronger book.
My quibbles aside (and the grumbles from the Husband), it was still an entertaining listen. I enjoyed Cal, Anna, Picasso and Nando. I worried about Cal's dog. I loved the food descriptions (the book should have come with a menu at the end). And the setting didn't disappoint and loved tracking the characters around Portland and Dundee. My only regret is this is the only installment available on audio/Audible.
Recommended with some small reservations.
"Read" as an audio book.
I'll start with the narration as performed by Michael Kramer. If you've listened to some of Brandon Sanderson's books or the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan, you've heard Mr. Kramer. I quite enjoyed the sound of his voice, he adroitly managed different intonations for both the male and female characters, and had a good cadence which all made for an engaging reading experience.
I had stumbled across this book on Audible and was intrigued as I've bounced around the Portland and Dundee area and have relations living in Corvalis. I'm also well aware of Portland's (western Oregon, really) homeless concern so thought this could be an interesting book.
And it was, with some caveats. I'll start with - this is a first book and the book itself could have used a couple more rounds with an editor or proofreader. Two examples come to mind, calling a Glock 19 a revolver (it's not) and Anna putting a finger to her lips when her hands were tied behind her back. Glaring mistakes that could have been easily avoided.
I also found the lamentations about the homeless issue as relates to kids and Oregonian liberalism to be a bit heavy handed. I have talked to Oregonian's and while yes, homelessness is a concern (problem), it's not "just" kids, and many 20 year olds are doing it intentionally. It's a complex, complicated, and polarizing issue.
For a cozy mystery, I thought the murder mystery was overly complex and - I'm going to say it - unrealistic. Yes, yes, that's almost the definition of "cozy mystery". I think if the author had stuck to two main murders and hadn't expanded beyond that, this would have been a stronger book.
My quibbles aside (and the grumbles from the Husband), it was still an entertaining listen. I enjoyed Cal, Anna, Picasso and Nando. I worried about Cal's dog. I loved the food descriptions (the book should have come with a menu at the end). And the setting didn't disappoint and loved tracking the characters around Portland and Dundee. My only regret is this is the only installment available on audio/Audible.
Recommended with some small reservations.
June 30, 2021
Lawyer Calvin Claxton runs a one-man law office in Portland Oregon. He would be doing well financially, according to his accountant, if it weren't for his tendency to take on the cases of people who would otherwise not be able to afford good representation. As a result, he's determined to cut back on pro bono work and take on only paying customers. So when Danny Baxter aka Picasso, a scruffy street kid and accomplished muralist shows up and asks him to help solve the murder of his mom who had disappeared when he was a child, a case gone cold until her body was found recently, Cal refuses despite the fact the local police still don't seem too interested in the case. However, after a little time and research, he decides to at least talk to the kid and soon finds himself embroiled in a very complicated and, as the bodies begin to stack up, dangerous case.
Matters of Doubt, the first in the Cal Claxton Mysteries series by Warren C Easley was first published in 2013 but the series is being republished by Poisoned Pen Press and, after reading it, I can understand why. Told in the first person by Cal Claxton who is one of the most likeable protagonists you will find in the genre, this is a well-written and compelling story. Along with a very interesting mystery, Easley also brings in complicated issues like homelessness especially among youth, and the difficulties the homeless face including from the law and he does it with empathy and compassion but without pity.
Matters of Doubt gets a high recommendation from me. I will definitely be reading more of this series in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
Matters of Doubt, the first in the Cal Claxton Mysteries series by Warren C Easley was first published in 2013 but the series is being republished by Poisoned Pen Press and, after reading it, I can understand why. Told in the first person by Cal Claxton who is one of the most likeable protagonists you will find in the genre, this is a well-written and compelling story. Along with a very interesting mystery, Easley also brings in complicated issues like homelessness especially among youth, and the difficulties the homeless face including from the law and he does it with empathy and compassion but without pity.
Matters of Doubt gets a high recommendation from me. I will definitely be reading more of this series in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
May 16, 2021
The Story:
After the death of his wife, former L.A. prosecutor, Cal Claxton, moves to Oregon and now runs a one-man law practice. When the remains of Nicole Baxter who has been missing for eight years, is discovered in the bed of a reservoir, her son Danny a.k.a Picasso seeks Cal's help to investigate his mother's murder. Soon, things take a turn for the worse when Picasso is found covered in blood at the home of the man whom he suspects to be his mother's killer.
My thoughts: This book got me hooked right from the beginning! It was fast-paced and I liked how engaging the writing was. The plot is complex and I enjoyed the multi-layered mystery with twists and turns throughout the story.
Cal may be tough on the outside but he is an endearing character. I do not know why but he reminds me of Bill Hodges of Mr. Mercedes trilogy. I loved it! I liked the rest of the characters too although I wish there were more character depth.
This story also touches on homelessness topic which I appreciate it very much.
In a nutshell, Matters of Doubt is an enjoyable read and a great start to this Cal Claxton series. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series!
Pub. Date: May 18th, 2021
***Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and author Warren C. Easley for gifted copy to read & review. ***
My thoughts: This book got me hooked right from the beginning! It was fast-paced and I liked how engaging the writing was. The plot is complex and I enjoyed the multi-layered mystery with twists and turns throughout the story.
Cal may be tough on the outside but he is an endearing character. I do not know why but he reminds me of Bill Hodges of Mr. Mercedes trilogy. I loved it! I liked the rest of the characters too although I wish there were more character depth.
This story also touches on homelessness topic which I appreciate it very much.
In a nutshell, Matters of Doubt is an enjoyable read and a great start to this Cal Claxton series. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series!
Pub. Date: May 18th, 2021
***Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and author Warren C. Easley for gifted copy to read & review. ***
August 7, 2025
I was going to give this book maybe 3 stars initially, but the more I read the more disappointed I became. Cal Claxton is a former deputy DA from Los Angeles who leaves his rat race job behind after his wife commits suicide. Cal moves to a small town in Oregon and opens a one man law office. Okay - so he should be extremely familiar with the law, but he doesn't act like it. One day a bedraggled, tattooed homeless boy from Portland shows up at his door (why him?) to ask him to look into the murder of his mother. Number one - he is not an investigator. Number two - he is not in Portland. Number three - makes no logical sense. So, after turning him down he decides to look into it. The boy is nicknamed Picasso because he is a talented street artist. Cal uses money he does not have to hire a friend of his who is a private investigator in Portland to help. He falls for the beautiful, overworked doctor at a local clinic where Picasso works and paints. What made me downgrade my rating is that he is a middle aged lawyer, not a seasoned investigator with physical skills. His fighting off bad guys is not credible. He fights off a gigantic Russian thug who ends up respecting him (Why?). The "relationship" with the Russian thug makes absolutely no sense. The leaps of logic and assumptions Cal makes along the way also stretch my ability to find the plot believable.
February 6, 2026
Cal Claxton is a lawyer who has moved from the big city to live with his dog, Arch in a rural, slower-paced setting. Danny Baxter, a street kid, rides his bike from the city to hire Cal to help him put the person he believes murdered his mother in prison. This sets Cal (the bleeding heart) on a chaotic journey to find out who killed Nicole Baxter.
I had never heard of this author or series before but found myself enjoying the book in this series. Cal is a very laid-back investigator who puts himself into multiple risky situations and seems to have the luckiest time coming out on the other side. I liked that Arch wasn't a "wonder" dog but a loyal companion and the romance crap was kept minimal.
The story creates some realistic characters of street life in the homeless kids and a war veteran. Anna, the love interest, has a life mission of helping them and Cal can't stop himself from giving to the multitude of street people with their hands out.
I will continue with Dead Float the second of an eight-book series.
I had never heard of this author or series before but found myself enjoying the book in this series. Cal is a very laid-back investigator who puts himself into multiple risky situations and seems to have the luckiest time coming out on the other side. I liked that Arch wasn't a "wonder" dog but a loyal companion and the romance crap was kept minimal.
The story creates some realistic characters of street life in the homeless kids and a war veteran. Anna, the love interest, has a life mission of helping them and Cal can't stop himself from giving to the multitude of street people with their hands out.
I will continue with Dead Float the second of an eight-book series.
May 18, 2021
An original & entertaining murder mystery set among the beautiful and rather peaceful world of rural Oregon where nothing really appears as tranquil as it should be. Cal Claxton is a winsome but complex character, a recent transplant from Southern California determined to start a new chapter in is life away from the urban hustle and bustle of LA, but a chance encounter with a young & talented street artist from Portland will unfortunately set his life on a dangerous course where murder and the local & unscrupulous criminal underworld will definitely give him more than a passing headache...
Tensly written & higly suspenseful, this fiendishly plotted mystery and its incredible cast of colorful & often malevolent characters will take the readers into a wild and unforgettable journey from start to finish. A wonderful treat to be enjoyed without moderation!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen for this terrific ARC
Tensly written & higly suspenseful, this fiendishly plotted mystery and its incredible cast of colorful & often malevolent characters will take the readers into a wild and unforgettable journey from start to finish. A wonderful treat to be enjoyed without moderation!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen for this terrific ARC
May 18, 2021
Matters of Doubt by Warren C. Easley is the first of an eight-book series. It features a straight-ahead, honest and determined attorney, Cal Claxton living in rural Oregon. Cal's client is a young man whose mother has been murdered. This egregious offense motivated Cal to do what he can to bring the killer to answer for his crime. Taking up the cause of his client seems to offend Cal’s friends and some of his associates. But no matter what, Cal is obligated to collect the evidence and solve the murder. And along the way, we become familiar with Cal's personality and work habits. We also gain a picture of Portland, Oregon, and its problems typical of a large city in the United States. Matters of Doubt is a stand-alone winner and serves as an outstanding springboard for the author's future work.
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