Confessions: A Johnny Walker Novel

Johnny Walker Novels #1

by Ralph Griffith

On a dark rainy night, Johnny Walker, a cocaine addicted, alcoholic homicide detective in Portland Oregon, receives a call that a priest has been murdered out at the Grotto. And so begins one of the darkest noir detective stories since Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep."

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2020

About the author

A Life Lived in Ink

Ralph Griffith is an intriguing American author with a life story that reads like a gripping novel itself. Known for his crime and mystery novels, his literary career began during his incarceration, where he spent over 30 years, including a final 14-year stretch that inspired his memoirs "Monkey House" and "The Real Bernie Madoff".

Griffith's notable works include:

"The Harry Chin Murder Mysteries"

"The Johnny Walker Detective Novels"

"The Clyde Thomas Novels"

"The Too-Sweet Sagas"

"The Big Huna Novels"

“The Griffith Chronicles”

Today, he continues to write from his home in the Pacific Northwest.
His series have been translated into Spanish.
You can visit Ralph at:
amazon.com/author/ralphgriffith
https://www.linkedin.com/in/xak-media/
https://www.facebook.com/XAKMediaGroup/
https://x.com/XakMedia
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16300273/...

Una vida vivida en tinta

Ralph Griffith es un fascinante autor estadounidense cuya historia de vida se lee como una novela apasionante. Conocido por sus novelas policiales y de misterio, su carrera literaria comenzó durante su encarcelamiento, donde pasó más de 30 años, incluido un tramo final de 14 años que inspiró sus memorias "Monkey House" y "The Real Bernie Madoff".

Las obras notables de Griffith incluyen:

Los misterios del asesinato de Harry Chin

Las novelas de detectives de Johnny Walker

Las novelas de Clyde Thomas

Las sagas Too-Sweet

Las novelas de Big Huna

Las crónicas de Griffith

Hoy, continúa escribiendo desde su casa en el noroeste del Pacífico.

Reviews

[Pretty Peony Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this gripping story, Detective Johnny Walker is assigned to a case where tracking the murderer is truly a mystery. It all started when the wrong priest was murdered during confession. From that point on, Johnny made sure he was on top of things, quickly working to track down the murderer. Johnny isn’t perfect, and because of this, he sabotaged himself, creating unnecessary problems where none were needed. Yet, with his quick thinking, he was able to get the job done.

This was a fun read, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was fast-paced but perfectly timed. Johnny had his faults, and that made him real. It was also what made the story fun for me. I also couldn’t figure out who the murderer was and was surprised when it was revealed. This was a well-written story.

[Armonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repulsión me ha causado este libro, pensé abandonarlo, lo terminé solo para saber cómo iba a terminar ese desastre de investigador borracho, drogadicto y que con sus conversaciones de borracho lleva individuos a la muerte. Me asombra saber que hay una serie con tal investigador que pone en entredicho el trabajo de miles de investigadores que son ejemplo de trabajo por la seguridad y la justicia de la población. No lo recomendaría.

[P.Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

[Deirdre Mulvenna-Pegrum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was painful. How can a detective constantly drink and use cocaine without being caught out?
The proof reading and spelling at times was very poor.
The apocalyptic rain was unbelievable and did not add to the story at all. As for the ridiculous "twist" at the end, well, it could have been telegraphed slightly by more than having someone stomp everywhere.
I won't be in a hurry to read the next one.

[LD · Rating 1 out of 5]

Totally disliked the alcoholic drug addicted main character. What a waste of time reading this trash. And it’s a series? Horrible

[Dawn Mccordic · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay but won’t read more

Lots of adventure but the main character unlikable. Some spelling errors. But tons of unnecessary bad language. The author has a thesaurus in his head which was a bit much.

[M. Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't write a lot of reviews, and rarely for a mystery/crime novel. This is a surprisingly intriguing book. I generally read mysteries as mind candy between more serious books. I was impressed with the (sometimes overdone) imagery - the author really has the ability to make you feel like you are experiencing what the character is. I wanted to write down all those descriptions and impress people by using them in conversations - really outstanding! I'm wondering if it was self published though because I noticed numerous errors - spelling, punctuation, etc. Not enough to detract from the story though! His descriptions of the weather were particularly impressive, as was his depiction of an alcoholic cocaine/crack addict reaching his bottom. Having seen friends go through this, it rang very true.

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walker walks an ever-thinning line that strains at pulling him into darker corners than I feel any real Police Detective should approach, whether it's for the good of their job or not.
Still, I can't begin to imagine some of the horrors Police work involves so becoming an addict to cope becomes inevitable. Griffith grasps it with both hands, plunging us into this murky World of grime and nastiness that he brilliantly describes. Dingy clubs, filthy taverns and even sordid strets in your average neighbourhood aren't given a free pass...I'm wondering just where our broken hero will end up next.

[Lesley Halliday · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author tells a great story but is overly descriptive, so I felt that I lost where the story was going at some points in the book.

I loved that the lead character wasn’t the usual perfect person and cop, his flaws and own demons made it more gritty and the twist at the end was interesting.

It was a good book but I was very frustrated with the descriptive writing I just wanted them to get on with it!

[Pete Gustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Many Literary Embellishments

Good plot, good characters! Would prefer way fewer metaphors, similes, and other unnecessary embellishments. Started a page Bingo game for references to death and burial, echoing and mimicking, and his dependence on adjectives. Relentless made every single page. Get rid of all the extras and it would be a good book.

[C. Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author should give serious consideration to using a proofreader. The number of errors in spelling, sentence construction, etc., is terrible for a "professional" writer. The main character is a pain in the derrière and, as someone who served in a UK Police Force, I can't understand how he is still in the PPB!

[Cynthia A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnny Walker hits the bottom

As a detective Walker was an alcoholic and cocaine addict. When a priest hears a confession about the murders of over 30 children he has another priest take over for the evening. The wrong priest gets killed and the hunt begins.
I had a hard time with this book because I prefer my officers of the law to at least be mostly faithful to the job.

[Bill Hoyler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Save your money

So we have a homicide detective who drinks bourbon and snorts and smokes cocaine every day yet no one notices. This should be under sci-fi not mysteries. If I could give it negative stars I would

[Cindy Peña · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by how good it was! The twists had me at the edge of my seat the entire time! Looking forward to read the next 3 in the series!

[MARY C WILEY · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly edited. Lots of punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors that drove me crazy! I finished the book but I'm not impressed.