Fatal Judgment: An Andy Hayes Mystery

Andy Hayes Mysteries #6

by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Judge Laura Porter fiercely guarded her privacy, and never more so than during her long-running—and long in the past—affair with disgraced quarterback-turned-private investigator Andy Hayes. Now she’s missing, disappeared just hours after she calls Andy out of the blue explaining she’s in trouble and needs his help.

A trail of clues leads Andy to a central Ohio swamp whose future lies in the judge’s hands as she weighs a lawsuit pitting environmentalists against developers. Soon Hayes encounters the case of another missing person, a young man who vanished without a trace in a different swamp two counties away. As he looks for links between the two disappearances, Hayes is led from Columbus to Cleveland, unearthing a history of secrets and betrayals threatening not just the judge but her family as well.

Along the way, Hayes is forced to confront a newly strained relationship with his older son, now a budding football star himself, and revisit his tumultuous days as a Cleveland Browns quarterback and the gridiron failures that haunt him to this day. In partnership with a cop on her own quest for justice, Hayes rushes to find the judge, and the truth, before it’s too late.

264 pages, Hardcover

Published April 5, 2019

About the author

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS is the Shamus Award-nominated author of the Andy Hayes private eye series, the standalone crime novel "The End of the Road," and editor of "Columbus Noir." His short fiction has appeared in "Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine," "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine," Mystery Magazine," the anthologies "The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021," "Mickey Finn 21st Century Noir: Vols I and III," "Paranoia Blues: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Paul Simon," and other magazines and anthologies. Andrew's nonfiction book, "No Winners Here Tonight," is the definitive history of the death penalty in Ohio.

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

FATAL JUDGEMENT is written by Andrew Welsh-Huggins and is the 6th title in the Andy Hayes Mystery series.
I received an autographed copy from the author and I couldn’t be more pleased.
How did I even come across this series written by Ohio author and AP reporter, Andrew Welsh-Huggins? Maine (where I reside) is about 1,000 miles east of Columbus, Ohio.
I was born (long ago) in Columbus and grew up in another big Ohio city. I visit Ohio often and try to keep up with family members who (over the years) took me on several tours of the Ohio State Campus, the Short North area and German Village. (Thank you Lindsay!) My favorite bookstore in all the world is the Book Loft in German Village and it was the Book Loft that recommended the Andy Hayes debut title FOURTH DOWN AND OUT. I was hooked.

The main character, Andy Hayes, resides in Columbus, Ohio, in German Village, and the Book Loft is often mentioned in the series.
This is a very ‘local’ series. The sense of place is tremendous. I like the connection to Columbus and its environs. It takes a special author to make a location interesting and personal.
I also like Andy Hayes. Yes, he is a disgraced Ohio State Quarterback who was guilty of point-shaving his senior year. He paid his dues but is still vilified by most Columbus residents. I am not a big football fan, so I am not particularly bothered by that aspect of Andy’s life. But Buckeye football in Woody Hayes’ Land is sacrosanct. It is a legend, a religion not to be trifled with. To make matters worse, Andy is a bit of (a lot of) a smart-ass. His retorts and quips cover a streak of low self-confidence that I pay attention to. It makes him more human and vulnerable.

A prominent Columbus judge, Laura (the Velvet Fist) Porter, arrives unexpectedly at Andy’s house asking for help. They had a fling, an affair, five years previously but had not stayed in touch. As quickly as she arrived, she disappeared and Andy is troubled, wanting to help her.
Clues lead to various swamps in central Ohio and a posh lawyer’s office in Cleveland. We have a great local police officer (Gloria) who takes an interest in Andy’s investigation. We have shady, corrupt business and and real estate dealings. Unexplained bird deaths. Missing persons. A seemingly deserted barn with a suspicious freezer. Revenge. Corrupt lawyers.
When Andy is on a case, following clues, he is like a dog with a bone. He forgets all else (which goes a long way into explaining his estrangements with his ex-wives and sons).

Interesting characters. Very realistic, tense plots. Danger. Very clever writing and dialogue.
I would very sincerely recommend this title and series.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this was a very pleasant surprise. I am not sure why I put it in my library hold list, but it probably was due to a positive review on DorothyL.

Unfortunately, it is not the first in the series. I would have stopped reading and waited until I could find book one, but our libraries are closed at the moment.

I thoroughly enjoyed the voice of Andy Woody Hayes. Although my sport is baseball, I have watched enough football, college and pro, to follow the threads Andrew weaves through the story.

I do like lawyer focused books, but have not read much at the judge level. This was interesting, despite the political threads also weaved through this story.

I have not been to Ohio but you get a nice travelogue from Columbus to Cleveland. I trust it is accurate.

The characters are certainly well drafted, and of an incredible variety. Andy uses his fame as a football player to good advantage in this investigation. We also learn a bit about wind turbines and endangered birds.

I will definitely look for the earlier books.

[Miriam Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy "Woody" Hayes is back for another investigation centered in Columbus, OH. This one involves his friend and former lover Judge Laura Porter, one of her cases, her son, and a swamp in NW Columbus. Following the scant clues, Hayes ends up in a small town outside of Mansfield where someone else has disappeared near their swamp. Could the two cases be connected? You'll have to read this environmental thriller to find out.

There's lots of action for Hayes fans and plenty of local gossip and scenery. As always, Ohio Author Andrew Welsh-Huggins writes an edge-of-your-seat thriller that doesn't let go until the very end. Read the latest adventure or start at the beginning. No matter what, you'll be hooked and waiting for the next installment!

Thanks to the Ohioana Library Association http://www.ohioana.org for a copy to read and review.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series because they are set in Columbus Ohio. This is the sixth book and the writing is getting better. Andy Hayes is growing as a character and other characters have developed. There are plenty of snarky comebacks. The plot moved along as we followed Andy’s thought process. My only negative is that it seemed somewhat unlikely that he would have figured out everything so easily. A fun read!

And he even mentioned Grandpa’s Cheese Barn.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great mystery. Nice development on the new characters and he continues to build the existing players in the Andy Hayes series. I especially love seeing Ohio locations and even recognizing a name or two from Ohio as well. Even though this a series, I've not been able to read them in order due to availability but no worries, each one can stand on their own.

[Mary Rinehart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the author's style of writing but didn't care for the basic theme of environmental issues. We get enough of that from the newspapers. Plus years of living in Colorado--I was environmentally onvolved long, long
ago!

[Margaret S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling read, not only of the crime at hand, but Andy's relationship with his son. Each book gets better!

[Janis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be my favorite one yet. Just the right number of characters, a good mystery and an interesting plot. Bears a strong resemblance to the 1st Joe Picket book by C. J. Box.

[Jo Anne Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story and I always enjoy the main character, Andy Woody Hayes.

[Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as strong as the previous book in the series. The plot seemed to wander a bit more than the others. But still interesting.