Delphine is a retire marine biologist with terminal cancer. She is living in a rundown SRO by the hospital where she receives treatments. Her husband, a former investigator and PI is dead, too, killed by a hit-and-run driver near their home in Washington state. Her friend, who lives in the room next to her, dies and leaves Delphine his motorcycle. She uses it to run around and one day witnesses a man abusing a woman holding a small child. Delphine intervenes and finds herself smack-dab in the middle of baby selling ring. Things go from bad to worse when she promises the supposed mother that she will get her baby back. Delphine hits the road to eastern Washington to confront a gang of motorcycle thugs. With help of a queer gang of bikers and the widow of her friend that died, Delphine will take on the thugs, even if she dies trying. A stand-alone from the author of the Cecil Younger series, this was an interesting meditation on living and dying with cancer.

“Big Breath In,” by John Straley, Soho Crime, 288 pages, Nov. 12, 2024.

Delphine is a retired marine biologist who helped police break up a child trafficking ring. She and her late husband, John, lived in Sitka, Alaska. They both started out in criminal investigations.

She is now in Seattle, being treated for cancer. Her surgeon said she has a slow-moving cancer that is terminal. Delphine worries she’s become a burden to her son, Bertie, and his family. One night, while contemplating how to go on, Delphine witnesses a violent argument between a man and his girlfriend. When Delphine discovers the woman has gone missing along with her young child, Delphine embarks on a quest to find them.

What begins as a chance encounter balloons into a rescue across the Pacific Northwest. Soon, she winds up in the middle of a battle between a child-trafficking ring and an Aryan biker gang. Delphine is determined to see her mission through, knowing full well it may be her last.

Straley interweaves action, insights on whales’ social behavior, and flashbacks to Delphine’s life before she got sick. The plot relies heavily on coincidence and the whole thing isn’t believable.

I rate it three out of five stars.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

"Putting little pieces together until a big picture emerges."

That's exactly what John Straley does here in Big Breath In. He weaves the habits and habitats of Nature into the mesh of human existence. And that blatantly leaves the loops and openings of what drives individuals on a quest for that existence or on a mission of wanton destruction.

We'll meet Delphine. Delphine is a marine mammal biologist who has been stationed in the Glacier Bay National Park. Her specialty spotlights Humpback, Killer, and Sperm whales. She continues to add memos to her already astute research. But life has handed her the spikey end of the stick.

Delphine now lives in a rundown hotel blocks from a hospital in Seattle. It's inhabited by those who walk the walk like Delphine. She is a terminal cancer patient with not much time left. It takes great effort to follow through on her appointments. She's a widow and her grown son, Bertie, lives in California.

Time stands still until it eventually picks up the pace. Delphine and her husband, John, worked also as criminal defense investigators hired by lawyers. Their scientific backgrounds inspired an almost bloodhound response. Delphine receives a call from Tom Foster, a private investigator. He wishes for Delphine to check out an individual wrapped up in a shady adoption scheme. And Delphine will run head first into the likes of it through a mother named Leigh.

Straley's Delphine will conjure up thoughts of inhaling your second wind. She's inherited a yellow Sportster mortorcycle from a friend who recently succumbed to cancer. She'll take to the roads banking into the turns. "This was the opposite of dying and she drank it in." Be sure to read the Author's Notes for the inspiration for the character of Delphine.

Big Breath In won't be for everyone. There is a heavy theme driving this storyline with cruelty and violence at times. But overriding that is the determination and the force of Delphine's spirit. She's been a voice for the whales for over 40 years and now she finds herself as an advocate for young children. She draws in that "big breath" in fighting the good fight. Witness that. You will not be the same. Guaranteed.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Soho Press and to the talented John Straley for the opportunity.

I have been reading Starkey for years, when I first discovered his books in a Ketchikan bookstore. I enjoyed this one, and Delphine was a joy of a character, but I must admit I missed Alaska here. I liked the neo nazi plot, and sadly tying it t the modern day political scene, but Tye seemed more cartoon than menacing to me.

All in all though, a good weekend read, and a great holiday novel to push.