The Spike

Marty Singer #4

by Matthew Iden

Retired DC homicide cop Marty Singer witnesses a horrific murder and the family of the victim hires him to find the killer. But when he peels back the cover on the case, Marty discovers a rotten core of corruption, graft, and violence that runs from the lowest city street to the top of the political food chain. The only way to catch the killer is to dive right in—and stay alive long enough to find out who or what is The Spike.

Revised edition: This edition of The Spike includes editorial revisions.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Suspense

290 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2013

About the author

I write fantasy, science fiction, horror, thrillers, crime fiction, and contemporary literary fiction with a psychological twist.

I’ve held jobs with the US Postal Service, international non-profit groups, a short stint with the Forest Service in Sitka, Alaska, and time with the globe-spanning Semester at Sea program. Trips to Iceland, Patagonia, and Antarctica added to the creative pot, as well, and I started to put all those experiences to good use about eight years ago--thinking, dreaming, and writing.

Please email me at matt.iden AT matthew-iden.com, Tweet @CrimeRighter, or find me on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/matthew.iden.

The Marty Singer detective series is:
A Reason to Live (Marty Singer #1)
Blueblood (Marty Singer #2)
One Right Thing (Marty Singer #3)
The Spike (Marty Singer #4)
The Wicked Flee (Marty Singer #5)

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Had I pushed away from the wall and gotten to my feet, my head would've been down and I would've missed what happened. If I'd glanced at my phone or scratched my nose or even blinked, I wouldn't have seen a thing. As it was, I was watching the incoming train like it was a movie screen and couldn't have had a better view of what happened next."

The " Marty Singer Mystery" continues with this fourth book in the series. Pick it up and dive right into the comfortable character of retired homicide detective Marty Singer. Marty is waiting to ride the train when it now becomes a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Marty witnesses the murder of Wendy Gerson at the train station. Giving unsuccessful chase to the suspect , he's not much help in the description of the murderer. With the police having so little to go on the family contacts Marty and asks for his help.

Marty's leads take him down a political road involving activists, politicians and lawyers. They are involved with corporations that buy up areas, demolish and rebuild. Could this be what led to Wendy, a lawyer who specialized in these kinds of real estate transactions, to be killed? Another murder close to her also points in this direction. Or does it? Marty struggles with the answers to this one. The answers he seeks are not going to come easy.

As with the others in this series this book is an excellent stand alone, but well integrated with the previous three books. I like his growing relationship with his now "adopted" daughter Amanda from the first book in the series. He is doing the "dad and daughter" thing and learning how to be a parent of a grown up . There are the personal situations and relationships that arose in other books that also are part of the story line and it was good to see that brought into play in this book and not brushed aside. I like the surprises that are never what I expect. Skillful story telling. He is still dealing with the consequences of his cancer diagnosis that ended his police career. We get to know Marty better with the added layers of his character with each book.

I give this book one less star than the first three. That's only because of the political corruption parts of the book. Matthew Iden did find a way though to make it an interesting read for someone who usually stays away from that type of thing. The characters are strong and the writing is top notch. If he made it interesting for someone who doesn't find it that appealing, I'm sure that someone who understands this kind of thing will be enthralled. It is legal for corporations/groups to buy up neighborhoods, push people out and then rebuild. There are people out there who do this all the while convincing people its whats best for them. Meanwhile someone is making a lot of money at their expense. Sometimes there are hold outs though. People who don't want to sell their little piece of the American dream. That's where "The Spike" comes in. I didn't understand the concept when I first started the book but have a clearer view of how these things work. So I did learn some new things and to me that's always a plus. Here is a small excerpt in reference to "The Spike."

"Is it the notion of the spike that appeals, Singer?" he asked in the mocking tone he'd used when we first spoke. "A lone hero, holding out against the forces of corruption and evil? A solitary figure railing against the darkness?"

Onto the fifth book! I hear from the author that there will be more after the fifth one and that there is a short story out there that is also part of this series. I will post an update concerning that when I have that information. I'm sure you'll want to continue with this series. I know I will.

Thank you to Matthew Iden, Netgalley and Thomas& Mercer Publisher for the A.R.C.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

The fourth book in Iden's Marty Singer Mysteries opens with action -- Marty becomes (one of the) eyewitness of a horrific murder when a woman is pushed in front of a moving train at Waterfront Metro station. The victim's family then asks Marty to help investigate the case, after the police department can't give a satisfying answer to the case due to lack of evidence and information. Initially, Marty refuses -- until a financial problem makes Marty reconsiders. After taking the case, Marty discovers that the murder is just a tip of the iceberg of a more complex and corrupt system surrounding public housing and renovation projects in Washington D.C....

Well, The Spike is another winner coming from Matthew Iden -- I seriously LOVE this series to bits!! While I didn't think of it as perfect as the previous book, due to an appearance of previous character, whom I still not sure was needed, this book still rocked my socks off for various of reasons.

First of all, the opening. My GOD, that was a very effective first chapter. Imagine yourself an eyewitness of someone being pushed into a moving train! *shudders* I use train to commute from my house to the office every day (here in my hometown, Jakarta), and it's a scenario that can happen!

Second, the revelation of the corrupt system surrounding the murder -- I definitely learned a LOT from this book. From the insane hospital bill (which forces Marty to accept the case) to the complexities of commercial real-estate deals, their brokers, white-shoes firm, investments, up to campaign donations. And I thought Iden writes ALL of this very smoothly. I could understand the explanation easily for a topic that it's pretty much new to me.

Third, I LOVED the secondary plot of Marty helping his adopted daughter, Amanda, while her workplace dealing with a boyfriend threatening his ex. I didn't know whether the term "adopted" means that Marty legally adopt Amanda -- considering that she's a female adult already -- or just a figure of speech. Whatever it is, the development of Amanda becoming Marty's daughter is something that made me very happy. Amanda is a very important person in Marty's life. So Marty's concerns about Amanda, about what happened at her workplace, including how Marty deals with the problem (which results in a very ass-kicking scene of Marty facing a senator!), are all winning moments for me.

Fourth, the development of Marty's cancer remission ... I thought Marty's post-remission blues is a really good topic (another thing I learned about in this book). I'm happy that Marty's health problem is not magically disappear because that will be unreal considering his type of disease.

The only plot that I wasn't sure about -- as I mentioned above -- was the thing with Julie Atwater. Even now, I still wasn't really sure if her character (or the idea of Marty wanting to fix things with her) is needed. This is a series which I think will do fine without any hint of romance. I prefer Marty spending time with Amanda or any of his friends -- Dods, Bloch, Rhee -- rather than the idea of Marty and Julie together again *shrugs*

In any case, I can't believe I only have one novel and one novella left of Marty Singer mysteries. I'm going to miss Marty until the next book comes along.


The book is provided by Thomas & Mercer publishing via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.

[Steve Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Killing a quarter hour on a DC subway platform Is like being trapped in George Orwell's head the day before he started writing 1984." That's how The Spike starts, and I had to read that first line a couple of times, rolling it around in my brain like a tasty morsel around in my mouth. There was a lot of flavor there, but I wasn't sure where it was going. Not to worry. The next sentence sent me on a nonstop ride through the chapter and I was hooked.

The hero, Marty Singer, is a retired Washington, DC, homicide cop. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, across the river, where I grew up, and that's what got me started reading the series. Singer is a cancer survivor…or is he? The Spike is a real page-turner. So much so that in Chapter 25, I promised the dog I'd "just finish this chapter" and get her dinner and take her out to relieve herself. As has been the rule rather than the exception, I found myself well into Chapter 26 when I realized Mr. Iden had again made me turn the page, needing to see what next transpired. I’m not going to reveal the plot. I’ll let the official blurb, above, tell you as much as it will, lest I commit a spoiler faux pas.

Marty Singer is somewhat like Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch, and I believe you’ll really like The Spike and the rest of the Marty Singer series.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite retired detective is back and plunged immediately into the action as he witnesses a murder and is subsequently hired as a private eye to find the killer. That was a seriously hard hitting start to a book that in my opinion, goes from strength to strength.

This one challenged me a little more cerebrally than the previous ones, throwing real-estate deals, investment firms, campaign donations and politics into the mix. And of course.. wherever there is politics, there is oodles of corruption. Marty has to wade through all of this to figure who killed the young woman, and why. In previous books we saw Marty struggle with cancer and finally beat it into submission - but this book takes a harsh look at the reality of cancer survivors, and the depression and fear they can still suffer. I thought that was written very well, and gave Marty even more emotional depth than before - as did the strengthening of his relationship with Amanda.

I felt this one had more plot, more detail, more depth than the previous books - so loved it even more. Definitely a full five stars for me this time!

I'd like to thank Thomas & Mercer, in conjunction with NetGalley, for providing me with an advanced review copy of this title.

[Felipe Lerma · Rating 4 out of 5]

First novel I've read from Matthew Iden (had read several short stories I liked a lot) and am very impressed with several things about the book.

Number one, it was really entertaining, capturing my attention as Marty shifted between social strata, and between personal and social interactions.

For another, for me, being just slightly older than the character, I found it very gratifiying to read a male character that read like a person, not a detective stereotype. The guy, besides being able to get the job done, being street and investigatively smart, and tough enough to handle bad guys, has real feelings. His thoughts and confusions, desires and dislikes, ring realistic bells.

So adding in a character like Marty, into a very engaging murder mystery, was a real treat.

At some point, I believe, the evolvement of the characters in Matthew's work, along with the tight twisting engaging plots already evident, are gonna merge, and create a full blown non-inflated totally worthy five star rating (I felt this was really about a 4.5).

Add in the social commentary embedded into story, and there's multiple layers of interest and appeal.

All in all, highly recommend.

[Becki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book and I was not disappointed. Marty Singer is a retired detective who just completed his treatment for colon cancer. He is a very vulnerable and real character and I have grown to like him. Being the same age as he is, I can relate to a lot of his memories and opinions.

I have enjoyed the entire series so far and this one was very entertaining and a bit beefier than some of Matthew's previous books. He certainly knows how to spin a yarn.

Can't wait for more. Keep it up!!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Marty Singer series. The only difficulty I have (and this is me, not the author) is that there are way too many characters for me to keep track of. Lots of city officials, government, etc and I can't keep them all in my head. I read on a Kindle so it is next to impossible to look back and find out who is who.
Other than that this is a tightly written suspense, great main characters, and exciting (if not confusing) plot that is wholly believable.
I do recommend this book.

[Sue Ann Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super Read!!!

Love the Marty Singer mysteries. Great plots, great characters, great geography and historical facts.

Very much enjoy all of these mysteries as I am sure you will too~

[Elizabeth Maddrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addition to a solid series.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty bad. The plot revolves around people building buildings... How dare they, right? The political ideology embedded into the plot is that there's something wrong with redeveloping rundown neighborhoods in cities. It's unclear what the reasoning is here, why opposing development is a legitimate cause that anyone should respect. I don't respect it, and it was bizarre to make developers into murderers. Iden doesn't understand humans, and how typical human beings are never going to be involved with murder. Murder isn't a temptation for most people. Businesspeople aren't generally murderers. Random developers aren't murderers, and they don't have hitmen running around murdering people.

I found the leftist activists here to be despicable. The situations Iden presents appear to be renters having to move, maybe once in their lives, because of redevelopment. That's an amazing thing to complain about. Renters have no claim to cosmic sameness, no right to just freeze the world and stop other people from building stuff on their property – no one does. If you want permanence in terms of your home, then you need to own it (there was no eminent domain in the novel, no forced seizure of private property).

And ultimately DC is a poor setting for this series. A real life Singer would never throw his life away in DC's police department. That's ridiculous – he would get out. He wouldn't stay for ten years, much less 30. He would go to a different city, somewhere much more sane and worth his labors. That's what smart people do in real life – they would never stay. And the way Iden presented the government in DC as so corrupt and venal, where police would be pressured and interfered with for political reasons, drives home the point. Who in their right mind would want to work in a corrupt bureaucracy serving a corrupt government? Are we supposed to be okay with that, and just keep our heads down and do nothing about it? What a depressing world that would be (or is, if it's actually the reality we live in). I don't get it. If the system was that bad, I would want to dissolve it and start over.

He also broke Singer's character at times, like having him yell at length, in public, at the women's facility. That didn't make any sense. Adults don't just start yelling at a person over being called lucky, and continue yelling, if they're not unhinged yellers by disposition. It was extremely awkward, and Iden treats it like a random lapse – that's not realistic. Adults don't just start doing things like that as a lapse. I also don't think it's realistic for people like the Congressman and his staff to blow off extreme violence/beatings of a woman by her boyfriend or whomever. If I had been in Singer's shoes in that meeting, I would've laid into the Congressman and his staffer much more angrily – their attitude was wildly unacceptable, though I think it was unrealistic and wouldn't be seen in real life. Iden seemed to just be trying to take more political shots with that scene – he made the indifferent Congressman a Republican. The whole novel is cheaply politicized, unlike the previous ones, and it's a repugnant ideology from which to politicize a story.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad an entry in the Marty Singer saga, though it did not hit the high marks left by book numbers one and three. It thankfully still had the winning formula to keep me occupied, including great pacing, development, and the WONDERFUL characters like Marty Singer, his adopted daughter Amanda, and a variety of others whose friendships with Marty equate to such quality moments within the story.

The introduction to the plot was immediately intriguing to me, as it had Marty witness the gruesome murder of a woman being pushed into the path of an oncoming train. He gives chase to the killer, but fails. After providing his statement to the police, Marty carries on a bit in his life until the family of the train victim, having learned of Marty's identity and knowledge of law enforcement, recruit him to help find her killer. Marty initially says no, but specific circumstances occur that encourage him to change his mind. Thus enter Marty into his latest mission.

As I said before, these Marty singer books are super well-written and definitely keep me interested, particularly when it comes to Marty's methods and how quick-witted way of thinking on his feet. Furthermore, I just love being in his head as he still deals with his cancer aftermath combined with trying and hoping to live well. While the plot of this book sucked me in right away, once it started unraveling, I wasn't as invested as I was in the beginning. It's not because the plot was bad, but it was more of my own inability to keep up with the complexities of it. I won't spoil the specifics, but let's just say that it involves a subject matter that was not only something completely beyond my scope of understanding, it was also one in which I have zero interest.

I do appreciate author Mathew Iden's attempt to utilize Marty as a means of carting me along to learn right along with him, but that barely helps when the subject still is of little interest to me. There was a period of time that I found myself fading away from being connected to the story and I even, dare I say, got a wee bit bored with it. Fortunately, it didn't fail me completely because like I said before, it still had the other winning factors that tend to swoop me right back in place. I was mostly still very much entertained where I needed to be, and that's what counts.

Heading into book #5 soon!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth in Matthew Iden’s Marty Singer series. Marty is a 54-year old former Washington DC homicide detective who retired early for health reasons. While waiting for a subway train he watches Wendy Gerson, a young commercial real estate attorney, pushed in front of a subway train by a young man. Marty gives chase but his attempt to catch the perp is fruitless. Then Marty’s adopted daughter is injured trying to stop a masked man from barging into her workplace, a nonprofit serving as an escape house for abused women. We suspect that these are not unrelated events, but how could Marty be in two incidents that, we discover, have nothing to do with him? Oh, well--read on!

“The Spike” is about the consequences of these two events. Wendy’s family hires Marty to try to find the man who murdered her. He also begins acting as a security consultant for FirstStep. Marty is a man with a golden heart and very rough edges; this makes him one-up on the insensitive clods he has to deal with in this crime thriller. As the bodies pile up, Marty becomes a student of the seamy side of commercial real estate and discovers what every realtor knows: working in real estate can be murder.

My take on “The Spike” is that it is a decent page turner sitting in the middle of the crime thriller genre. The writing is OK, the story is OK, and when you finish you’ll say “OK.” I’ll say three stars, but I don't think my next read will be in the Marty Singer series.

[Megan Hamsher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retired Homicide Detective Marty Singer returns
in the 4th book of the Marty Singer Mysteries series, The Spike, by Matthew Iden.
Although not Christian fiction, it still packs quite a few topics in there.
There is a small amount of foul language, but it is not constantly used.

Minding his own business, Marty was at The Metro station when, to his horror,
the unthinkable happened: a lady was pushed right in front of an oncoming train.
Who was she, and why was she murdered?
Thinking that that would be best left to the on-the-job detectives,
Marty wandered off to other things:
conversations with his adopted daughter;
fears and anxiety over what will happen when he returns to doc's office for the next appointment; helping the local women's shelter with security and a trouble-making abusive ex-boyfriend;
awkward conversations with his ex-girlfriend, Julie;
and hanging out with his cat, Pierre (those were the best scenes in the book!).
But when another murder occurs and there seems to be a connection to the previous murder,
Marty can't undo his detective curiosity.....
can he solve the murders before anyone else - including himself - becomes a target?

I look forward to the next book!

[Jonathan Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Spike is the 4th Marty Singer mystery. This time retired MPD Homicide Detective Marty Singer needs to earn a little extra cash to help pay for his ‘daughter’ Amanda’s hospital bill as the result of an assault where she works. As things would happen to be, Marty witnesses a rich real estate developer murdered on a Metro subway platform and the family would like someone to look deeper into their family members death.

What results is Marty thrown into the crooked world of D.C. real estate development where what is legal and what is illegal is a very gray area which depends upon which politician you can control through contributions.

The story is well written and is an enjoyable read. If you liked the first three Marty Singer stories this one won’t let you down. It’s written well enough as a stand alone but is this is your first Marty Singer mystery, I would read book #1 first to really get the flavor of Marty.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The spike

The saga was great reading very interesting informative and exciting one of them best storylines I've read in awhile
I've learned a lot about real estate in the capital I recommend the series to everyone. This was an amazing story I have enjoyed each book. Matthew Iden is a great story teller. Everyone should read this story. Your imagination from his story comes alive with his diiscriptions of the streets of Virginia and the capital.

[Dkolacinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm beginning to really like Marty Singer, not just the books but the person. I can understand the anxiety of living with cancer which may or may not be in remission. Regarding the book, I really enjoyed it, having spent a lot of time in Washington DC in the 80's, and I learned a lot about how the politics of urban development work. Highly recommended.

[ANGELA OBERNDORFER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent read

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this series. Characters are well rounded with enough suspense to keep it interesting plus a storyline that’s easy enough to follow and immerse yourself in. Can’t wait to continue the series.

[Andre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hit

The more of this series I read the more grateful I am that this was recommended to me. Marty is believable as a real person with real world problems, which make these booms relatable.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn't love to hate developers? Here is your chance. Enjoy!

[lois kirkwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spike (4)

Marty had to really dig into dirty business, we all certainly need a great many brave souls to clean out the sewers of politics!

[Mitch Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not enjoy as much as first 2 in the series

[Mary E Kilpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

Marty Singer is fun to follow and details are overwhelming! All stories don't have to great endings, but realistic outlooks to find the next book!

[Russ Leavitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The was the best Marty Singer book to date. Great ending....well written.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is by far my least favourite in this series. It was way too convoluted and went into Washington DC real estate WAY too much. I got totally turned off and was really not in the mood to pick it up again a lot of the time, which is why it took me so long to get through it.
I still love Marty but just not this story. There were some very funny lines from him in this. I bought the next one at the same time so I hope we're back to the older writing style for that one !!
Pretty shocking to see that according to the reviewing averages on Goodreads that THIS one scores the highest !!
I did notice he used an at one point instead of a quite strangely (an crimininology instructor) and we lost and from this sentence-"He's from Kentucky was always complaining" and then used finger and not fingers.
I was totally lost with one phrase-"..there's nothing like Harry comma Oil Can attached to the record"......just didn't get that at all. Perhaps an Americanism I've never been party to.
No other mistakes, though, which was good. This one just wasn't a good one for me.

[Jackie Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first reading experience with a Marty Singer mystery. Found this detective likeable and very good at his work. In this novel he is retired from the police dept. and in remission from colorectal cancer. Is a murder mystery taking place in the nations capital. Ends up with 4 murders and having witnessed the first Marty gets drawn out of retirement by the victims family needing the murder of their loved one solved. Mart's adopted daughter is also on the sidelines in an abused womens shelter working to help others and ends up injured at the home by an abuser. As if this is not enough excitement, Marty has his annual exam for the cancer and is fearful of going to it. All he murders are tied to huge corperations in real estate in D.C. Is a roller coaster ride throughout the book. Good read.

[Janet Newport · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author, Matthew Iden has shown up multiple times as "recommended for you". This is the 1st Marty Singer story that I've read...maybe he's the kind of character that has to "grow on me". Sometimes I've found the 1st book in a series a disappointment and go with a 3rd or 4th book to begin with before reading the rest of the series in order. I like a good plot, but it's the characters that really make the story good for me. But I found Marty to be overly "earnest"....and all the rest were fairly "flat" as well. The story was okay, but the people left me feeling "meh?".

Overall, not sorry I read the book, but now I can ignore any further recommendations without wondering what I may be missing.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #4 in the Marty Singer Series is another winner. Matthew Iden just keeps turning out great work with well developed characters and near perfect editing. So now I'm looking forward to Book #5, still scheduled to issue sometime this summer. I'm even hoping that Book #5 isn't the last one either. If it were, at this point I'd feel like I was losing an old friend.

"The Spike" does need to be read 4th to benefit from the character development in the previous three. It is also helpful to read Book #3 in order, but far less important whether you read Book #1 before Book #2. Of course, since Book #1 is free in the Kindle Store, it probably makes good sense to start there if you're new to the Series.

[Susan Krich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Goodreads book.
It is not always easy to describe things that are not solid. The descriptions of feelings are great and accurate as in paragraph one page 29.
Chapter 15 gives a good explanation of how big corporations, in this case real estate, and politicians and donations many times go hand in hand.
The names of books do not always seem to make sense. I hadn't heard of the term the spike used this way but after reading this book it is very fitting.
This story kept me guessing until the end.

[Mike Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Good series. Great, interesting characters to care about. I did figure out what was going on early in the story, in spite of the misdirections. But, then, I was a PI for a while and I have written several detective stories. So I'm better than most. But this isn't really about me, is it? Good writing. I'll keep reading this series because I care.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty standard series of police procedurals, but I enjoyed them. They are set in the DC metro area, which is fun if you live there and recognize the places described. The plots are good, concisely described, and keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. The main character, a retired male cop, is well-drawn, but the female characters could use a little work.