Murder, homeless, and political intrigue

This is book two in the City Streets Trilogy by Susanne Perry. The other books are Runaway and Gutter Punk. The series deals with police detectives, the homeless population, and are crime dramas.

Plot, Character, Setting of Veteran

The novel begins with a man named Dylan, who is attacked in his office. A wonderful introduction that captures the reader’s attention quickly. Who is Dylan? Why was he killed? Who is the killer?

The story then switches to the main character of all three books, a police officer and detective named Liz Jordan. She is assigned to the case, and is an intriguing character that draws empathy from the audience. She is tough, good at her job, but the author also gives us some insights into her personal life and her inner thoughts and questions about herself. She is a genuine character and I found myself rooting for her.

The D.A. and others believe the man responsible for the killing is a homeless man and a former Gulf War veteran. Liz’s love interest work with the homeless, and she knows several people in the city who do as well. She, and her partner Kyle Connors, do not believe the veteran is capable of murder, and had no motive. He claims he is innocent, but will not give them an alibi or help them. As the story unfolds, they discover political intrigue, conflicts of interest, and more.

The plot is intriguing, a bit of a mystery-crime drama. Well-written, it engages the reader with plot twists, sympathetic and complex characters, and realistic details of police work, forensics, and the homeless community.

Literary Aspects

The descriptions of the police work, the homeless community and those who serve them, and the other, technical nature of some issues are well-done. Perry has done her research, as always, and has obviously discussed issues with excerpts in these fields. This results in a story that is believable and engaging.

Whenever a new character is introduced, there is a paragraph or two describing their look, clothing, and other background material. I know this is common in modern writing. For me, it pulls the reader out of the narrative for a moment. If the description matters, it is better to weave it into the narrative in a natural way. But that is just my opinion—some readers love this sort of detail, and it is well-written and not a problem to read.

The characters are fully developed and complex, making them seem quite real—a requirement for good writing. Even the antagonists have some sympathetic aspects (save one, but he is a minor character, even though he turns out to be the killer). I love good characterization, and Perry always does well in this respect.

There are moments in the story where the perspective shifts abruptly and unexpectedly. We are in Dylan’s head, then suddenly he is unconscious, and we have switched to the killer’s mind and perspective. Perhaps this is to keep the reader off-balance, but omniscient narrative might have served better from a technical perspective. Likewise, there are some expositions that might be too long for some readers (show, don’t tell). Yet the information presented is interesting and well-written, and does not detract from the story.

Like most books, there are some typos (mostly punctuation problems), that should have been caught by an editor. But they are minor, and again, would probably not be noticed by most readers.

The best thing about this novel is the plot, how it unfolds, and the characters. They are fully dimensional, for the most part, and appear genuine, believable, and sympathetic.

Recommendation for veteran

Perry is a good writer, and her prose is natural and engaging. The plot is intriguing, and not always apparent. To the reader where it might go—an excellent way to keep readers engaged. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and recommend it to readers who appreciate the genre.

If you engaged the first volume, you will enjoy this as well. If you haven’t read the others, this novel can stand on its own as a well-written and entertaining crime-drama. Read all three!