Review: City of Dark Corners

City of Dark Corners by Jon Talton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to Booklist for the ARC and the opportunity to review this title!

Living in Arizona during the Depression, WWI veteran and former police detective turned private investigator Gene Hammons finds himself on the wrong end of a heinous murder case. A young woman is found dismembered next to railroad tracks with Gene’s business card in her purse. The police department rules it a suspicious death, but Gene is certain it’s much more than that. As he searches for the victim’s identity, Gene begins to unravel her secrets, leading to confrontations with some of Phoenix’s most prominent movers and shakers, both power brokers and criminals. Talton, author of the long-running David Mapstone series (The Bomb Shelter, 2018), set in contemporary Phoenix, shows his range with his first venture into historical mystery. (At the outset, Talton provides a considerate explanation of and warning about his decision to use language from the era.) Gene is an amiable and savvy protagonist, and Talton shines in weaving together the mystery elements of the plots with historical events from the Prohibition period. Fast-paced, gritty, and exciting, this one will have fans of both Depression-era and southwestern-set crime fiction begging for more!

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