Matanzas

Detective Lane Series #9

by Garry Ryan

His psyche still reeling from having to kill a criminal in the line of duty, Calgary's Detective Lane flies to Cuba to celebrate the wedding of his beloved niece. While there, though, he finds himself drafted by the local police into investigating the murder of a Canadian tourist.

Upon his return to Calgary, links between this incident and the deaths of local elderly pensioners start to make themselves known, drawing Lane and his partner Nigel Li further into a web of conspiracy, politics and big money.

Garry Ryan's award-winning, best-selling mystery series continues with all the intrigue, good humour and mochaccinos that fans have come to expect.

Genres: Mystery

198 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2017

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this series, and this episode of the series. Generally too, I appreciate that there is a focus on Lane's life beyond just the mystery itself. But, in this case, the book seemed to be a lot of Lane walking around mulling about things. There was some focus on his family life, but the mulling out-weighed that, and the mystery itself felt like an after thought, which, to my tastes was out of balance especially for a mystery novel. The book also felt quite rushed and unfinished. Really, I got to the last page on transit on the way to an appointment. After my appointment, I picked up the book to read again on my way home only to be reminded that I had gotten to the last page already, but still feeling, even now, that I still have finished the story, or more accurately, the story has not finished itself; Ryan has not finished it.

I will read the next book in the series and see how it goes.

[Nese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads in exchange for a fair review.
At the beginning, I almost gave up on this book and put it away because the author didn’t identify the characters while telling the story, and I become overwhelmed trying to figure out who is whom for the fact that this is the first book in the series I have read. On the first two pages of the book, there are around 53 names telling you who these people are, but after a while it gets old going back and forth every line or so. The story begins with a police investigation about a Canadian woman’s murder by her husband in Cuba, and it continues in Canada, focusing on the husband and his criminal activities. The constantly evolving story is so creative, original, and complex. I also like the way the local culture, physical environment, and the government agencies are described in Cuba and Canada. I enjoyed reading this book that took me away to Cuba and Canada telling a complex story in an entertaining way, and I plan on reading more books from this series. However, I hope the unpleasant family connections and fights of two female characters that contribute nothing and take a lot away from the enjoyment of reading this book are left out in the future books. By the way, the cover design of the book is so beautiful. Four and a half stars.