Running Out of Road

In his day, police detective Buck Schatz was a feared and respected member of the Memphis Police Department, but that was a long time ago and now his biggest worry is what to do with his 72 year old, sickly wife. Buck isn’t doing too well himself and he keeps what little remains of his sanity be reliving his past. And now his past has come roaring back into the headlines, as a man he put away for multiple murders has finally run out of pardons and has received an execution date. A national news feed has picked up the story and believe that the confession was forced out of the convicted serial killer. Now, Buck will find himself and his career tried in the court of public opinion. This is the most unique police procedural/mystery I’ve ever read and does an amazing job of portraying what age and dementia can do to even the strongest person. A must read

This is the third Buck Schatz novel, though it can be read as a standalone, the storyline does not include much detail from the previous two novels. Though reading those would give you a better idea of Buck’s character. And he is quite the character, unrepentant, blowhard and tough as nails even at 89 years of age. Buck, back in the 70’s, had arrested and obtained a confession from Chester March, who was accused of murdering his landlord, he is convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. Chester is thought to have committed a string of murders, but is only convicted on the landlord one. The book is told in three parts, present day, from the 70’s when Buck was a Detective and investigating Chester and from an NPR podcast. The execution date for Chester is looming and the NPR reporter is talking with him about it and the possibility that he had been brutally beaten by Buck to extract the confession. The NPR also wants to talk to Buck about the same issues, but he repeatedly declines. The story moves along at a steady pace, I did find some of the death penalty discussion a tad tedious at times, though the author did well to cover all sides of a complex issue. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wow. My first novel by this author but won’t be my last. Full of the shades of grey of life, this would make a fabulous book club read. A real page turner with jumping off points that would make great discussions including rule of law; racism in America; the criminal justice system; family dynamics; PTSD; aging; and illness.