The Second Girl

Former police detective Frank Marr took an early retirement from the force. Now, he works as a private investigator for a defense attorney. The money he earns comes in handy for funding Frank’s “hobby”. He’s been a high functioning drug addict for years and has become so skilled at hiding it, no one knows. During a routine investigation, Frank stumbles across a kidnapped teenage girl in a drug dealer’s hangout. The rescue makes him front page news and he’s soon talked into searching for another missing teen who may be connected to the first girl. But all the media scrutiny threatens to expose Frank’s secrets for all to see. I have read a lot of books where the tortured cop was an alcoholic but this is my first drug addicted cop. Frank is the kind of character you know you should hate, but you can’t help but rally behind. His humanity is a testament to Swinson’s skills as an author

The author manages to make a despicable protagonist (drug addict and killer) appealing. Fast paced and easy read.

THE SECOND GIRL David Swinson Mulholland Books ISBN 978-0316264174 Hardcover Thriller

Author David Swinson specializes in tragically and spectacularly flawed heroes. His Detective Simenon in his dark, memorable novel A DETAILED MAN was afflicted with Bell’s Palsy. Swinson, after too long an absence, returns to the crime story world with THE SECOND GIRL, introducing a tragically fractured and darkly rumpled knight errant in a book that hopefully launches a long and continuing series.

Frank Marr is the unlikely protagonist of THE SECOND GIRL. Marr, when introduced, is on a stakeout of a drug house for the worst of reasons. A former Washington, D.C. police detective, Marr in his dark present is a drug addict with multiple monkeys on his back who masquerades convincingly as a private investigator employed by a defense attorney. Marr’s plan, as THE SECOND GIRL begins, is to rob the drug house on its pharmaceutical assets when no one is home. He does just that, ultimately, though he is startled on his first entry to discover that the house has more than drugs and money inside. Specifically, a fifteen year old girl is being held hostage. Marr liberates her and sees that the wheels are put in motion to reunite her with her parents. No good deed goes unpunished, however, and Marr, in his guise as a noble p.i., finds himself reluctantly tasked to find another young girl who has gone missing, one who went to the same high school as the girl who Marr rescued. As one might expect, there are some twists and turns in the investigation that take Marr to places that he does not expect. THE SECOND GIRL, however, is primarily character-driven, and Marr is quite a character, indeed. Swinson knows the territory of the addicted mind; when Marr who narrates THE SECOND GIRL in the first person present, talks about substances such as cocaine making everything clear and helping the mind work in the way it is supposed to, in a manner that was “taken away,” I got chills up my spine. This guy is for real. A good part of THE SECOND GIRL occupies itself in the manner with which Marr plans his next high and takes pains to hide his addiction from the rest of the world. This is true addictive behavior: the high takes center-stage, and everyone and everything else becomes supporting cast and scenery. The problem which Marr encounters in THE SECOND GIRL is that his rescue of the abducted girl results in an unexpected and unwanted spotlight on him, once which makes it more and more difficult for him to carry on his lifestyle as he has become accustomed. The tragedy is that Marr’s addiction really doesn’t give him much time to adapt. Watching Marr go through life in THE SECOND GIRL is like witnessing a reel of broken-field running through a land mine, only there’s a missing girl’s life potentially at stake, as well as his own. And as tough as it may be sometimes to watch it unfold, you can’t really ever look away.

My understanding is that THE SECOND GIRL heralds the start of a new series. I assume that, if such is true, Swinson will be putting his protagonist through some interesting changes. You won’t want to miss a mile of this ride, so jump on now. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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