Book Notes — Trace Conger And Mr. Finn, Number 3

Not a lot of moss can grow on Trace Conger’s keyboard. His third Mr. Finn book is out.  I’ve commented here before on the first two – The Shadow Broker and Scar Tissue. I have a feeling we’ll be dealing with Mr. Finn’s fourth sooner rather than later.  The Prison Guard’s Son, just out, continues the adventures of the shadowy former private eye, whose lack of license seems to give him license to do what he deems necessary — legal or not and with moral judgment that is, at best, dicey.

Trace Conger

One of the interesting qualities that comes out of the notion of a series is not only getting to know the main character, a worthwhile endeavor in this case, but also those regular characters that surround him or her. I’m especially fond of Finn’s father, and his ex-love, who may or my not be so ex.  

This tale, full of clever twists, introduces us to a man who suffered the loss of a son in a brutal murder many years ago.  The two nine-year-old boys who were convicted of the crime served their sentences and were released into a federal protection program ostensibly because of how young they were when they committed the crime. The father of the victim has not forgotten nor forgiven, and he hires Finn to find the two so carefully hidden so many years ago.

 

Questions arise, of course.  How does one find people professionally hidden, given completely new and officially sanctioned identities?  Where does one begin?  More important, what happens if they are found? As it was with his previous books, Conger seems to approach his stories from unexpected angles and forces his readers to contend with the complex moral dilemmas that arise when law, justice and pure vigilantism intersect.

Trace Conger’s The Shadow Broker was awarded The Shamus by the Private Eye Writers of America for “Best First Novel.”

Book Notes — Scar Tissue: Award-Winning Conger Has Series Well Under Way

Trace Conger’s first Finn P.I novel, The Shadow Broker, picked up a Shamus Award — quite an accomplishment. My contention is that almost everyone has at least one good story to tell. Proof of a talented writer is what follows. I would add the obvious: one book does not a series make.

 

Scar Tissue proves that Conger has more than one good story.  It also suggests that series’ lovers can look forward to a future with underground P.I., Mr. Finn.

Here, Finn’s father, ex-wife, daughter, and a few, assorted characters return in a fast-paced story that is like a chain-linked fence with each link a cliffhanger. To mix a metaphor, read one chapter and you are off to the races. (Yogi Berra couldn’t have said it better.)

Conger sets up the main plot with Finn trying to free his ex-wife’s boyfriend from the clutches of a brutal drug lord, a character drawn adeptly and cliché free.  While Finn gets himself in deep shit, his father sets out to confront his own checkered past — wounds that just won’t heal. Getting themselves in over their respective heads seems to be a family trait.  Yet we find ourselves rooting for Finn and his father and taking satisfaction with the often-violent nature of vigilante justice and personal retribution.

Trace Conger

With Finn, Conger has created a distinctive and most likely enduring main character.  In the first book, he was forced to adopt a take no prisoners approach to problem solving. The experience hardened him.  Now he will do whatever it takes, operating in the land between the law abiding and survival of the fittest.  Yet Finn is believable.   He’s not a superhero like Reacher or Spillane or even Spencer.  He’s more of an Old Testament version of Rockford, if there were such a thing. He has an inclination to protect the innocent, bluff, pull off the con and stay loyal to loved ones: but he is vengeful, willing to ice someone, even in a preemptive strike, if necessary, all the while shrugging off guilt like flakes from a light snow.

Conger’s writing is direct.  It moves clearly and quickly, perfect for thrillers. Finn finds what he needs to achieve his goal, step by step, without CSI forensics. It is, in a sense, an old-fashioned P.I procedural, yet one filled with constant terror. You’ll stay awake until you finish it.  As I said in my comments on the first Finn book, he’ll be back.

Book Notes – Trace Conger And The Arrival Of The Questionable Mr. Finn

Trace Conger

The Shadow Broker by Trace Conger is a good read. What it did, in addition to providing the satisfaction of reading an interesting and innovative crime tale, is re-ignite in my mind two on-going debates in the publishing world.

The first is independent publishing, the new and kinder word for self-publishing, which replaced the even worse sounding “vanity press.” The Shadow Broker is proof that it is possible for a well-written book to make it to market and have an impact without the backing of a major publisher.  Might the book have been even better had it gone though the traditional publishing process?  Maybe, but I doubt it. It’s solid as is.  Well-written and edited, with a great cover.

Might it sell more if it were traditionally published? I don’ know, but I’m guessing,  “yes.” Though I know from experience that an independently published book can sell better than one published by one of the big five that didn't provide adequate marketing support.  In this case, the book is doing well on Amazon, both in reviews and sales. Out of 45 reviews, more than two-thirds give the book five stars. It is also attracting Shamus Award attention, tough enough for any new writer.

As I said, Conger’s first novel brings other questions to the surface: one is: Can we justify rooting for a seriously and I mean seriously flawed human being? Mr. Finn, the main character, is likable only in as much as everyone else is less so. As we often do in the political arena, we go for the lesser or least evil. We can’t help but root for Mr. Finn and his irascible father. Everyone else is worse.

Final question: Is there such a thing as the pornography of violence?  When does excessive, graphic blood and guts become merely obscene? This is a violent book. The thing is: it is no more violent than most of the books and films we buy into every day.  Personally, I would not, could not make a steady diet of reading at this level of violence. But just as sex-related obscenity is in the eye of the beholder, so too are graphic portrayals of violence. And, it is fiction. Depiction of violence in contemporary crime fiction often seems to be obligatory. There is no shortage here either. However, the strength of the story and the heightened level of suspense pulled me through my prudish, anti-gore preferences. The violence is organic, essential to the plot and to the development of character. In short, Conger has a winner.  

In fact, I’d be surprised if this wasn’t the first of many adventures of the easily compromised Mr. Finn. I would also be surprised if his series isn’t picked up by one of the big five publishers should Conger want to go in that direction.