Resurrecting Langston Blue

C. J. Floyd #4

by Robert Greer

For decades, Carmen Nguyen, an Amerasian emergency-room doctor in a Denver hospital, thought her father, Langston Blue, was dead after vanishing in Vietnam. Now she knows he's alive, and she's hired bail bondsman C. J. Floyd to find him. But what C. J. and his assistant, former Marine intelligence sergeant Flora Jean Benson, discover is nothing short of criminal.   An elite assassin, Langston was witness to a clandestine US-sanctioned war atrocity so dishonorable that he abandoned the rogue operation and went running for his life. Ever since, he's been MIA, considered an expendable threat to military top brass. Resurfacing in Denver from self-imposed exile in the backwoods of West Virginia, he plans to locate the daughter he never knew and expose a truth more horrifying than anyone could imagine. But a Colorado congressman poised to capture a seat in the US Senate also knows what happened on that mission in the jungles of Southeast Asia – and he has a lot to lose.   In resurrecting Langston's past, C. J., Carmen, and Flora are caught in a treacherous plot that leads to the highest levels of government, where the most powerful and corrupt players in the country are still hiding from the ghosts of war – and will do anything it takes to make sure their secrets die with Langston Blue.   Bestselling author Robert Greer has been hailed as a "taut, powerful writer" (The Plain Dealer). Fans of hardboiled detective stories or the novels of Walter Mosley will enjoy his series featuring a tough African American sleuth in the modern-day West.   Resurrecting Langston Blue is the 4th book in the C. J. Floyd Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2005

About the author

Robert Greer, author of the CJ Floyd mystery series, lives in Denver, where he is a practicing surgical pathologist, research scientist, and Professor of Pathology and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He also edits the High Plains Literary Review, reviews books for National Public Radio, and raises Black Baldy cattle on his ranch near Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Series:
* C. J. Floyd

Reviews

[Monica **can't read fast enough** · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series

Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monica Is Reading*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Robert Greer's latest novel, bail bondsman CJ Floyd journeys down "Memory Lane" to revisit the atrocities of the Viet Nam conflict. CJ is retained by a recently engaged Amerasian, to locate her father, Langston Blue, who has sequestered himself in the remote hills of West Virginia after his discharge from the Army nearly 35 years before. Coincidentally, a botched assassination attempt on Blue's life forces him to Denver to attempt to locate his long-lost daughter at around the same time that the city mourns the recent murder of a popular congressman.

Floyd quickly discovers that the dead congressman is Blue's former squad leader from his old Army unit. The plot thickens when the police connect Blue to the murder. Floyd's role turns defensive as he searches for clues to prove Blue's innocence and discovers evidence of political corruption, covert military death squads, shady journalism, and suspicions of ethnic cleansing. The plot is further complicated by conflicts in Floyd's romantic relationship with long-time girlfriend, Mavis, his desire to retire, and a vengeful ex-convict who blames Floyd for her brother's death and is out to exact her revenge on Floyd and his loved ones.

This was my first time reading a CJ Floyd mystery and I found the story to be engaging and suspenseful; albeit a bit lengthy and heavy on dialogue. Nonetheless, I think fans of the series will be delighted with this offering.

[Squeaky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bail bondsman (and reluctant bounty hunter) CJ Hunter wants to know who almost killed him, and also is ferreting out the details of who is trying to kill Langston Blue. It seems to all be tied in to Langston's time in Vietnam. Not a bad story, I might have to read some more of the books in this series. This seems to be the first one, according to his website.

PICK NIT: On page 376, what is up with Jimmy Moc replacing the timing chain in the middle of some "acreage" after his little fender-bender? It seems to me if you damaged the timing chain you got bigger problems to deal with. Maybe he just decided to do it while the radiator was out.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. Relatively good mystery book. Not great, but Okay.