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Lieutenant Morales #1
Dead in the Water
Lieutenant Mario Morales retired to Miami's Little Havana to escape the pressures of serving as a homicide detective on the LAPD. Realizing he had retired too soon from police work, he signs on as the head of security aboard a Caribbean cruise ship. Shortly afterwards, he becomes involved in the investigation of the disappearance, seemingly into thin air, of a bride on her honeymoon. In the process of finding out what really happened to her, he uncovers an international plot involving a Chinese entrepreneur and a Miami trial lawyer. Just like P.D. James' Adam Dalgliesh, Morales conducts his investigation strictly according to the rules and solves another crime that had gone unnoticed.
248 pages, Paperback
First published February 27, 2015
56 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Basinski
4 books6 followersAJ Basinski is the author of three mysteries in the Lieutenant Morales series, Dead in the Water, A Reservation for Murder and The China Connection. He also has recently written a murder mystery set in 1969 in Georgia at the height of the Vietnam war. He lives with his wife in Pennsylvania and Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 8, 2015
Review Title: Triple entendre
Self published books by first time "second-career" authors are hard to review. Writing is hard work, and writing well is like being a professional athlete--fans who watch complain when their favorite player doesn't make the right play every time when the fan couldn't even start to understand the difficulty of the undertaking. And putting yourself out there for others to read and judge requires a high degree of both confidence and humility.
So if Dead were by a polished pro like Loren Estleman (my favorite detective fiction writer) it would be disappointing. But Basinski, a retired trial lawyer writing his first "in a series of novels featuring Lieutenant Morales", has actually gotten off to a reasonably good start, starting with
The title: "Dead in the water" describes the moribund Miami based Mariner cruise line, which is saddled with aging ships that are no longer state of the art and seemingly jinxed by a string of bad luck. And as the novel opens the title also refers to the ship Mardi Gras, which is stalled in a deep fog in the center of the Gulf of Mexico. And as we soon learn, the title may also refer to one of the passengers who has disappeared overnight. A good mystery title should start the reader thinking about clues to what could have happened before the action in the book and what will happen in the course of the book, and "Dead in the water" succeeds on both counts.
The detective: a good detective novel (especially one that is the first to feature a recurring character) needs a good detective, and Mario Morales is drawn well enough to draw the reader in. A good detective is smart but not perfect, humble but not bumbling, likable but not obsequious, sometimes an open book but not one we can immediately read. He needs a little mystery so that we can see him grow as he matures through the book and the series and we can learn more about him as his back story is slowly revealed. Lieutenant Morales, the chief of security on the Mardi Gras, ticks all these boxes. We learn that the title is honorary and self selected (because he likes it), that he used to work for the Los Angeles police department, and some of the story of how he ended up on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, but not the full account, which would likely make a good future entry in the series. We also learn that he likes to keep an open mind on the suspects until he can apply facts to focus his investigation (an approach which stands him in good stead here) and doesn't like to take notes during the case (which doesn't help at all and almost derails his investigation).
The story proceeding from the title and the detective is a fairly standard one. The missing passenger is considered a murder victim, but when the mystery is "solved" with the arrest of a suspect just halfway through the book we know that there is more detection to be done and Morales will be the man to do it. Which he does and nabs the real bad guys in the end. Saying more about the plot would be saying too much in a review of a detective mystery.
So where are the weaknesses of the first time novelist revealed?
1. Dialogue: from my reviews of several novels from first time "second-career" writers I have concluded that writing good fiction dialogue is the hardest part of writing fiction. Basinski actually is better than most, but still needs to work on simplicity and flow. Some of the dialogue reads like written text, with syntax and vocabulary that no normal speakers familiar with the language would use. And sometimes his character seem to be speaking past each other, not communicating with each other.
2. Description: while using too much can grind a novel to a halt, not enough can leave the characters acting on an empty stage, and this is the direction Basinski has taken. While the best detective fiction is often remarkably spare (Estleman comes to mind), we still need to be able picture the places where events are happening, and the movement of the people and objects in those events. The 248 small pages are almost all dialogue, so there is plenty of room here for more description.
3. Continuity: it is easy to lose track of simple logistics in the course of plotting out a novel, and this happens a couple of times here. For example, we learn that Morales drove from Los Angeles to Miami in a beat up second hand VW bus that he sold to help pay his rent before he got his job with the cruise line, then we see him driving to an interview. Where did this car come from? We're not sure. Later, as if realizing his mistake, Basinski describes Morales driving to another interview in a rented car. Maybe that was how he got to his earlier interview? We're not sure. Little things that take the reader's mind of the action and story can leave them stranded and if the thread of the story is lost they may abandon it completely.
4. Subject matter knowledge and how to use it: First time "second-career" writers usually have a great deal of subject matter expertise that they use in writing their novel and sometimes that comes out in undigested chunks of material. While it may (and is certainly intended to) help the reader follow the story, it reads like a research paper, not a novel. This is an especially high-risk area in a detective novel written by a lawyer, whose inside knowledge of legal jargon and procedures can drive the plot but kill the pace.
So, there are some weaknesses here, but not ones that make Dead a dud, and they are flaws that Basinski can work on and improve as he continues the Lieutenant Morales series.
Self published books by first time "second-career" authors are hard to review. Writing is hard work, and writing well is like being a professional athlete--fans who watch complain when their favorite player doesn't make the right play every time when the fan couldn't even start to understand the difficulty of the undertaking. And putting yourself out there for others to read and judge requires a high degree of both confidence and humility.
So if Dead were by a polished pro like Loren Estleman (my favorite detective fiction writer) it would be disappointing. But Basinski, a retired trial lawyer writing his first "in a series of novels featuring Lieutenant Morales", has actually gotten off to a reasonably good start, starting with
The title: "Dead in the water" describes the moribund Miami based Mariner cruise line, which is saddled with aging ships that are no longer state of the art and seemingly jinxed by a string of bad luck. And as the novel opens the title also refers to the ship Mardi Gras, which is stalled in a deep fog in the center of the Gulf of Mexico. And as we soon learn, the title may also refer to one of the passengers who has disappeared overnight. A good mystery title should start the reader thinking about clues to what could have happened before the action in the book and what will happen in the course of the book, and "Dead in the water" succeeds on both counts.
The detective: a good detective novel (especially one that is the first to feature a recurring character) needs a good detective, and Mario Morales is drawn well enough to draw the reader in. A good detective is smart but not perfect, humble but not bumbling, likable but not obsequious, sometimes an open book but not one we can immediately read. He needs a little mystery so that we can see him grow as he matures through the book and the series and we can learn more about him as his back story is slowly revealed. Lieutenant Morales, the chief of security on the Mardi Gras, ticks all these boxes. We learn that the title is honorary and self selected (because he likes it), that he used to work for the Los Angeles police department, and some of the story of how he ended up on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, but not the full account, which would likely make a good future entry in the series. We also learn that he likes to keep an open mind on the suspects until he can apply facts to focus his investigation (an approach which stands him in good stead here) and doesn't like to take notes during the case (which doesn't help at all and almost derails his investigation).
The story proceeding from the title and the detective is a fairly standard one. The missing passenger is considered a murder victim, but when the mystery is "solved" with the arrest of a suspect just halfway through the book we know that there is more detection to be done and Morales will be the man to do it. Which he does and nabs the real bad guys in the end. Saying more about the plot would be saying too much in a review of a detective mystery.
So where are the weaknesses of the first time novelist revealed?
1. Dialogue: from my reviews of several novels from first time "second-career" writers I have concluded that writing good fiction dialogue is the hardest part of writing fiction. Basinski actually is better than most, but still needs to work on simplicity and flow. Some of the dialogue reads like written text, with syntax and vocabulary that no normal speakers familiar with the language would use. And sometimes his character seem to be speaking past each other, not communicating with each other.
2. Description: while using too much can grind a novel to a halt, not enough can leave the characters acting on an empty stage, and this is the direction Basinski has taken. While the best detective fiction is often remarkably spare (Estleman comes to mind), we still need to be able picture the places where events are happening, and the movement of the people and objects in those events. The 248 small pages are almost all dialogue, so there is plenty of room here for more description.
3. Continuity: it is easy to lose track of simple logistics in the course of plotting out a novel, and this happens a couple of times here. For example, we learn that Morales drove from Los Angeles to Miami in a beat up second hand VW bus that he sold to help pay his rent before he got his job with the cruise line, then we see him driving to an interview. Where did this car come from? We're not sure. Later, as if realizing his mistake, Basinski describes Morales driving to another interview in a rented car. Maybe that was how he got to his earlier interview? We're not sure. Little things that take the reader's mind of the action and story can leave them stranded and if the thread of the story is lost they may abandon it completely.
4. Subject matter knowledge and how to use it: First time "second-career" writers usually have a great deal of subject matter expertise that they use in writing their novel and sometimes that comes out in undigested chunks of material. While it may (and is certainly intended to) help the reader follow the story, it reads like a research paper, not a novel. This is an especially high-risk area in a detective novel written by a lawyer, whose inside knowledge of legal jargon and procedures can drive the plot but kill the pace.
So, there are some weaknesses here, but not ones that make Dead a dud, and they are flaws that Basinski can work on and improve as he continues the Lieutenant Morales series.
December 17, 2015
A quick and entertaining read
Being a self published book, I wasn't sure what to expect from Dead in the Water. It turned out to be a pretty straightforward read with no real twists or turns. That being said, it is a good book especially if you're looking for something quick and easy.
The author (A.J. Basinski) plans to make a series of Lieutenant Morales novels and I believe that I will keep reading them.
Thank you for the book A.J. I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
Being a self published book, I wasn't sure what to expect from Dead in the Water. It turned out to be a pretty straightforward read with no real twists or turns. That being said, it is a good book especially if you're looking for something quick and easy.
The author (A.J. Basinski) plans to make a series of Lieutenant Morales novels and I believe that I will keep reading them.
Thank you for the book A.J. I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
April 26, 2015
Good
the murders that happened were all part of a crime organization from China with ties to the terists from the middle east coun
the murders that happened were all part of a crime organization from China with ties to the terists from the middle east coun
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2015
Great, absorbing plot. I loved Lt. Morales and look forward to reading future books in this series.
Want to read
June 23, 2015I won this book via Goodreads Firstread Giveaway.
July 20, 2015
I received a copy for free through Goodreads First Reads
This was a fast paced, easy read. Perfect for a day on the beach or lounging by the pool.
This was a fast paced, easy read. Perfect for a day on the beach or lounging by the pool.
March 31, 2020
Fortunately this was a short read and it was like reading “murder she wrote” too simple writing.
August 16, 2019
Very simplistic writing style. A bit off-putting. Reads more like a kid's book. Story not very complicated and no surprises. I still finished it though. A quick summer read.
March 29, 2017
Dead in the water
A woman is presumed to be murdered and missing on a cruise ship. From there it gets complicated with lots of different people involved
A woman is presumed to be murdered and missing on a cruise ship. From there it gets complicated with lots of different people involved
April 19, 2017
I'll admit that it took me a while to really get into the book, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The writing style turned me off a bit at first, but it kind of grew on me by the end. I enjoyed the mystery and was surprised by the twists. Overall an enjoyable read!
April 18, 2017
Quick read.
I was fascinated by the storyline in this book. I enjoyed the many twists and turns that this author took while writing this book.
I was fascinated by the storyline in this book. I enjoyed the many twists and turns that this author took while writing this book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews