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Mud Bay: A Richard Esher Mystery
Mud BayMud Bay is the southern-most tip of the Puget Sound. When the tide goes out it becomes a bay of mud. Things are as clear as mud for Richard Esher as he investigates the car accident that killed his partner, Maggie McGrath. From Seattle to Olympia and all points in between, Esher chases blackmailers, killers and maybe the hijacker D.B. Cooper.
194 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2001
10 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Chandler
7 books18 followersJD “John” Chandler, Portland author, (1961 – 2021).
JD Chandler was a writer and author, as well as a former political/labor activist, military veteran and public historian specializing in the history of crime in Portland, Oregon. He was a fiction and nonfiction writer his whole life, and also a film maker of short documentaries and several inventive “book trailers.” He was the author of seven books, which include two novels, five books of nonfiction, published primarily with The History Press, but also with America Through Time, who published his last book, Portland Rogues Gallery: A Baker's Dozen Arresting Criminals from Portland History.
JD had a popular website, Slabtown Chronicle and was beloved by many Portlanders, and out-of-state fans of his special brand of diverse and informative crime writing profiles.
JD was born in February of 1961, and graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington with a degree in liberal arts. He lived in various places, from California, to Washington state, all throughout Oregon, including Medford, but settled in Portland where he lived for many years in SE Portland in an airy, charming old 1905 walk-up apartment on Alder Street, just off Hawthorne.
JD worked hard all his life, from working as a newspaper deliverer, busboy, waiter, bellboy, door-to-door salesman, laborer, landscaper, apartment manager, soldier, intelligence analyst, Russian linguist, insurance agent, telephone solicitor, political activist, fundraiser, executive director, in-home caregiver, union organizer, Spanish interpreter, truck driver, account executive, college admissions representative, Podcastor, writing tutor, and finally as a longtime GED Examiner working for Portland Community College.
JD Chandler had many friends, his lifelong friend from childhood, Ken Goldstein, his good friend Thomas Legg, and his many author friends such as, Phil Stanford, Doug Kenck-Crispin, JB Fisher, Don DuPay and Theresa Griffin Kennedy, who wrote the definitive essay about JD and his creative life and tragic death in May of 2021. JD will be remembered as a staunch supporter of other writers, poets, painters and musicians, who often said: “I’d be happy to help!” when his expertise or help was needed in any number of ways.
JD Chandler was a writer and author, as well as a former political/labor activist, military veteran and public historian specializing in the history of crime in Portland, Oregon. He was a fiction and nonfiction writer his whole life, and also a film maker of short documentaries and several inventive “book trailers.” He was the author of seven books, which include two novels, five books of nonfiction, published primarily with The History Press, but also with America Through Time, who published his last book, Portland Rogues Gallery: A Baker's Dozen Arresting Criminals from Portland History.
JD had a popular website, Slabtown Chronicle and was beloved by many Portlanders, and out-of-state fans of his special brand of diverse and informative crime writing profiles.
JD was born in February of 1961, and graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington with a degree in liberal arts. He lived in various places, from California, to Washington state, all throughout Oregon, including Medford, but settled in Portland where he lived for many years in SE Portland in an airy, charming old 1905 walk-up apartment on Alder Street, just off Hawthorne.
JD worked hard all his life, from working as a newspaper deliverer, busboy, waiter, bellboy, door-to-door salesman, laborer, landscaper, apartment manager, soldier, intelligence analyst, Russian linguist, insurance agent, telephone solicitor, political activist, fundraiser, executive director, in-home caregiver, union organizer, Spanish interpreter, truck driver, account executive, college admissions representative, Podcastor, writing tutor, and finally as a longtime GED Examiner working for Portland Community College.
JD Chandler had many friends, his lifelong friend from childhood, Ken Goldstein, his good friend Thomas Legg, and his many author friends such as, Phil Stanford, Doug Kenck-Crispin, JB Fisher, Don DuPay and Theresa Griffin Kennedy, who wrote the definitive essay about JD and his creative life and tragic death in May of 2021. JD will be remembered as a staunch supporter of other writers, poets, painters and musicians, who often said: “I’d be happy to help!” when his expertise or help was needed in any number of ways.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 13, 2021
So, JD Chandler was one of my and my husband's best friends. We met on FB. He sent my husband a friend request and asked to meet for coffee and so we did and that was how our friendship started. JD had seen my husband Don's posts on FB and knew of him from his good friend Phil Stanford, author and retired journalist with the Oregonian Newspaper and the Portland Tribune. We were friends with JD for years, almost ten years and in that time we socialized often and met for lunch, and were often at his great apartment in SE Portland.
JD was a fascinating and complex man - a person in many ways destroyed from abuse, neglect and trauma he experienced as a young child. He passed away in late May of this year and was only 60 when he died of heart disease that could easily have been avoided if only JD had cared more about his life and his health. But he did not. Even after I would supply him with expensive supplements proven to help strengthen one's heart health, and even when I would encourage him to take his heart health more seriously, he would scoff and tell me that he was "ready to die" and no longer cared if he lived much longer. It was infuriating for me. JD willed his death to happen and I'm still really angry at him for doing that. I adored him and valued his friendship so much. We helped each other as writers, as friends, and as human beings. We collaborated and we supported each other in so many things. We would talk and we told each other things we didn't share with others. We shared a lot.
So reading this book, "Mud Bay" has been an interesting and melancholy experience. I helped JD edit three of his other unpublished novels, which were all written in third person, but it is this book, "Mud Bay," written in first person that is clearly his best work. I wish I'd read this book while he was alive, but there was always something else I had to do and I never got around to it. So, I finally purchased it a few months ago and have read it, though it did take me a couple months to do so.
One of the best parts is simply something that came from JD's mind. Knowing him as I did, this is him riffing on his own life, and his own regrets, but it's perfect and I was so moved when I read it. "Sundown is the time of day I regret the failures of my life. Right after my divorce I used to sit at the kitchen table for hours running scenes in my head. How could it have been different? From that table I could watch the sky change from light blue through pink to deep purple, behind a tree that changed from green to black. While I watched I thought about all the other people in the world at home, with a loving family and a hot dinner. The feeling that none of that existed only added to my depression."
That short except is pure JD, talking about his own life. And it made me sad for him. JD was a very literal writer in many ways. There is no way anyone can tell me that this section of the book was motivated by some invented character, I've been writing too long to fall for that lie. Because in many ways Richard Esher is a more idealized version of JD himself. This was JD, my friend, lamenting the loss of his wife and daughter, whom he had told me about.
Mud Bay is a great book, it's solid and unique and interesting. There are a few small typos here and there but they are not egregious and basically unimportant. I can tell the book was not professionally edited, probably because JD didn't know a professional editor friend who would do it, or could not afford one at the time the book was published, which was all the way back in 2001. Still, it is a smartly written book and I enjoyed it so much, but not for the reasons mystery lovers enjoy reading mystery books.
Another aspect of the book that I found intriguing was when he writes about Evergreen State College, which is where JD graduated. This short excerpt is another example of JD's fine writing. "I parked in the lot at the Evergreen State College. I wanted to see what I could find out about Darcey. The campus was damp and pretty empty. The college had been built in the late sixties and had the functional, poured concrete boxiness of most of the public buildings in Olympia. The red brick central square was slippery from the rain. I passed an espresso cart in front of the library and went downstairs to the office of registration. I showed my license to the woman at the desk and she gave me Darcy Carlucci's class schedule and latest address. Evergreen is organized along the lines of coordinated studies. This way students have classes with only two or three faculty at a time. Some students do independent study contacts and only have contact with one teacher."
Its a clever 'Who Done It' kind of book, but its also unique and special in other ways. JD didn't think to include in the book description what the story is really about and he probably should have included those details, it would have made the book far more interesting to the reading public. Basically, "Mud Bay" is the story of a lesbian cop who is murdered and her friend, Richard Esher who tries to solve the murder and uncovers a whole mess of corruption and multiple murders. I think that if JD had included that information on the back of the book, that the book was about a lesbian cop in the description, it would have lent a much larger mystique and complexity to the book, but he didn't, which is unfortunate. I know those added details would have created more interest in the book, but JD often didn't know how to market himself and he was never one to boast or brag or try to promote himself. I would sometimes tease him about that but he could just never seem to do it. I think he might have thought to do so would be ungentlemanly but he could never actively promote himself on social media, so I often would. Later, he would message me and ask me to post something or share something on social media pertaining to an article or book he was publishing and I was always thrilled and happy to do so.
There are other paragraphs in the book that make me wonder about where JD got the content. One section makes me think that this entire letter or parts of it were actually written by his daughter. JD would use things he heard from friends and family and incorporate it into his writing. Once he contemplated using the lovely poem of a homeless woman whom he knew and who had stayed with him. I encouraged him not to do that because the woman was still alive and had not given him permission to publish her poem and he agreed he would not use the poem.
This paragraph is interesting in that respect and makes me wonder about its origins. "Dad, Its all set. I'm meeting him on the beach tomorrow night. I didn't say anything on the phone because I didn't want you to worry about me. I'm writing this because I want you to know why I am leaving. I'm finally going to have my own money. That's how you measure success, right Dad? By this time tomorrow I will have all I will ever need. The next day I'll be in South America and you'll never find me. Your whole life is a lie Dad. I won't go on living it with you. You can blame it on my mother. Ask her to describe our little scene. I know enough about her. I know what she is capable of. You'd be surprised. Or would you, Dad? You've been her lap dog all these years. And running errands for THAT MAN! I just don't see it. With all I've got on him now, he'll give me everything I want. Just wait and see. In the meantime you'll be doing alright. You probably won't even miss me."
That passage makes me wonder. Did JD use it from his real life? And how much of it is based on a real letter and how much did he fictionalize?
Along with having two of the characters being gay, which I really liked, there is also an old Black man named Age, who Richard Esher is longtime friends with. This character is blind and lets Esher hide out with him for a few days.
The ending is a surprise ending, you won't expect it and the formula is solid, in terms of not giving away the details that will inform the reader as to what happened, who did it and why. Its all revealed in the last four or five pages. But that's not why I loved reading this book so much. I loved reading the book because there are so many parts that are simply JD talking. There are part where he reveals himself, and because I knew him so well, I see those parts clearly. JD had a sadness and an anger that was hard to contain and rooted in self-loathing, and I grew to recognize that over time.
Reading this book introduced me to the JD who was secretive and would not reveal himself. I have included some of the best passages, because I think they deserve to be shared. JD was a great writer, and authored five other books on crime history, his last book, "Rogues Gallery," was one where I edited each chapter and looking back, I'm so glad I was able to do that for him. By then JD and I knew each other well enough to bicker and have arguments over various things, but I still loved him and I was happy to do that for him. He died far, far too soon but I think he had given up on life and really wanted out. I hope he found the peace he was looking for.
Mud Bay is a fine book, and also really entertaining, with some really incredible insight into the human condition and the ways in which people struggle.
A fine book. Highly recommended.
JD was a fascinating and complex man - a person in many ways destroyed from abuse, neglect and trauma he experienced as a young child. He passed away in late May of this year and was only 60 when he died of heart disease that could easily have been avoided if only JD had cared more about his life and his health. But he did not. Even after I would supply him with expensive supplements proven to help strengthen one's heart health, and even when I would encourage him to take his heart health more seriously, he would scoff and tell me that he was "ready to die" and no longer cared if he lived much longer. It was infuriating for me. JD willed his death to happen and I'm still really angry at him for doing that. I adored him and valued his friendship so much. We helped each other as writers, as friends, and as human beings. We collaborated and we supported each other in so many things. We would talk and we told each other things we didn't share with others. We shared a lot.
So reading this book, "Mud Bay" has been an interesting and melancholy experience. I helped JD edit three of his other unpublished novels, which were all written in third person, but it is this book, "Mud Bay," written in first person that is clearly his best work. I wish I'd read this book while he was alive, but there was always something else I had to do and I never got around to it. So, I finally purchased it a few months ago and have read it, though it did take me a couple months to do so.
One of the best parts is simply something that came from JD's mind. Knowing him as I did, this is him riffing on his own life, and his own regrets, but it's perfect and I was so moved when I read it. "Sundown is the time of day I regret the failures of my life. Right after my divorce I used to sit at the kitchen table for hours running scenes in my head. How could it have been different? From that table I could watch the sky change from light blue through pink to deep purple, behind a tree that changed from green to black. While I watched I thought about all the other people in the world at home, with a loving family and a hot dinner. The feeling that none of that existed only added to my depression."
That short except is pure JD, talking about his own life. And it made me sad for him. JD was a very literal writer in many ways. There is no way anyone can tell me that this section of the book was motivated by some invented character, I've been writing too long to fall for that lie. Because in many ways Richard Esher is a more idealized version of JD himself. This was JD, my friend, lamenting the loss of his wife and daughter, whom he had told me about.
Mud Bay is a great book, it's solid and unique and interesting. There are a few small typos here and there but they are not egregious and basically unimportant. I can tell the book was not professionally edited, probably because JD didn't know a professional editor friend who would do it, or could not afford one at the time the book was published, which was all the way back in 2001. Still, it is a smartly written book and I enjoyed it so much, but not for the reasons mystery lovers enjoy reading mystery books.
Another aspect of the book that I found intriguing was when he writes about Evergreen State College, which is where JD graduated. This short excerpt is another example of JD's fine writing. "I parked in the lot at the Evergreen State College. I wanted to see what I could find out about Darcey. The campus was damp and pretty empty. The college had been built in the late sixties and had the functional, poured concrete boxiness of most of the public buildings in Olympia. The red brick central square was slippery from the rain. I passed an espresso cart in front of the library and went downstairs to the office of registration. I showed my license to the woman at the desk and she gave me Darcy Carlucci's class schedule and latest address. Evergreen is organized along the lines of coordinated studies. This way students have classes with only two or three faculty at a time. Some students do independent study contacts and only have contact with one teacher."
Its a clever 'Who Done It' kind of book, but its also unique and special in other ways. JD didn't think to include in the book description what the story is really about and he probably should have included those details, it would have made the book far more interesting to the reading public. Basically, "Mud Bay" is the story of a lesbian cop who is murdered and her friend, Richard Esher who tries to solve the murder and uncovers a whole mess of corruption and multiple murders. I think that if JD had included that information on the back of the book, that the book was about a lesbian cop in the description, it would have lent a much larger mystique and complexity to the book, but he didn't, which is unfortunate. I know those added details would have created more interest in the book, but JD often didn't know how to market himself and he was never one to boast or brag or try to promote himself. I would sometimes tease him about that but he could just never seem to do it. I think he might have thought to do so would be ungentlemanly but he could never actively promote himself on social media, so I often would. Later, he would message me and ask me to post something or share something on social media pertaining to an article or book he was publishing and I was always thrilled and happy to do so.
There are other paragraphs in the book that make me wonder about where JD got the content. One section makes me think that this entire letter or parts of it were actually written by his daughter. JD would use things he heard from friends and family and incorporate it into his writing. Once he contemplated using the lovely poem of a homeless woman whom he knew and who had stayed with him. I encouraged him not to do that because the woman was still alive and had not given him permission to publish her poem and he agreed he would not use the poem.
This paragraph is interesting in that respect and makes me wonder about its origins. "Dad, Its all set. I'm meeting him on the beach tomorrow night. I didn't say anything on the phone because I didn't want you to worry about me. I'm writing this because I want you to know why I am leaving. I'm finally going to have my own money. That's how you measure success, right Dad? By this time tomorrow I will have all I will ever need. The next day I'll be in South America and you'll never find me. Your whole life is a lie Dad. I won't go on living it with you. You can blame it on my mother. Ask her to describe our little scene. I know enough about her. I know what she is capable of. You'd be surprised. Or would you, Dad? You've been her lap dog all these years. And running errands for THAT MAN! I just don't see it. With all I've got on him now, he'll give me everything I want. Just wait and see. In the meantime you'll be doing alright. You probably won't even miss me."
That passage makes me wonder. Did JD use it from his real life? And how much of it is based on a real letter and how much did he fictionalize?
Along with having two of the characters being gay, which I really liked, there is also an old Black man named Age, who Richard Esher is longtime friends with. This character is blind and lets Esher hide out with him for a few days.
The ending is a surprise ending, you won't expect it and the formula is solid, in terms of not giving away the details that will inform the reader as to what happened, who did it and why. Its all revealed in the last four or five pages. But that's not why I loved reading this book so much. I loved reading the book because there are so many parts that are simply JD talking. There are part where he reveals himself, and because I knew him so well, I see those parts clearly. JD had a sadness and an anger that was hard to contain and rooted in self-loathing, and I grew to recognize that over time.
Reading this book introduced me to the JD who was secretive and would not reveal himself. I have included some of the best passages, because I think they deserve to be shared. JD was a great writer, and authored five other books on crime history, his last book, "Rogues Gallery," was one where I edited each chapter and looking back, I'm so glad I was able to do that for him. By then JD and I knew each other well enough to bicker and have arguments over various things, but I still loved him and I was happy to do that for him. He died far, far too soon but I think he had given up on life and really wanted out. I hope he found the peace he was looking for.
Mud Bay is a fine book, and also really entertaining, with some really incredible insight into the human condition and the ways in which people struggle.
A fine book. Highly recommended.
May 7, 2011
This is Jd Chandler's first novel. A short crime thriller it explores the relationships between a private eye and serving police Taking as its backdrop a true crime from the early Seventies, its use of Tacoma / Olympia / Seattle as a setting is refreshing; so much better than New York yet again (and no offence to those who love that city).
As an Englishman, I noticed many similarities between the low-life goings on in trailer park America, and our own dysfunctional housing estates. The casual use of firearms, by the good guys and the bad, is much rarer here, but more prevalent in the States, even allowing for literary licence.
I await with interest the next Richard Esher story.
As an Englishman, I noticed many similarities between the low-life goings on in trailer park America, and our own dysfunctional housing estates. The casual use of firearms, by the good guys and the bad, is much rarer here, but more prevalent in the States, even allowing for literary licence.
I await with interest the next Richard Esher story.
June 27, 2011
This book was so poorly written...the work of someone not able to relate to characters or reader by making relationships shallow and more like a kid making up a detective novel and not logically developing reader interest. It might not have been such a loser if it was edited. The errors made it work to read but too many to ignore. Best work? I hope so and get a lazy writer to find more suitable work.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews