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Cal Claxton #6
Moving Targets
"With Moving Targets, Warren Easley delivers another humdinger of a tale featuring the City of Roses. But there's so much more to like about this story than just its evocative Portland setting. Cal Claxton is a guy worth rooting for, and the gang who aid him in solving the complex and dangerous mystery involved are a fun bunch to follow. If you're not familiar with these gems out of Oregon, now's the perfect time to give Warren Easely and Cal Claxton a try. You won't be disappointed." --William Kent Krueger, award-winning, bestselling author of Ordinary Grace and the Cork O'Connor series
When a young woman walks into Caffeine Central, Cal Claxton's law office in downtown Portland, he has no idea that agreeing to help her will turn his life upside down. His new client is the adopted daughter - "I'm brown and they're white" - of a Portland power couple famed for their real estate development firm and charitable work.
Sculptor Angela Wingate, once a wild child, and her recently widowed mother, Margaret, had grown close after years of estrangement. A grieving Angela is hesitant but nonetheless determined to learn if Margaret's recent death was a hit-and-run while out on her morning jog in her ritzy neighborhood, or something more - like murder. Angela is frustrated at the lagging police investigation and by her growing sense of something sinister at work.
As the ever-curious Cal begins to poke the principal players at Wingate Properties and to question Margaret's will, links surface between a lucrative riverfront project and a ruthless Russian ring. With a possible deadly foreign assassin in play, the threat level rises and the body count starts to grow.
Decidedly outgunned, Cal enlists his Cuban friend Nando, an enterprising investigator with an on-call hacker, and a bouncer at a strip club who knows the Russian underworld. And Cal gradually develops other allies - a skeptical police captain and a city councilwoman who opposes the massive riverfront project. In a separate battle, he recruits neighbors and officials who may help him kill the reboot of a quarry operation that threatens his beloved farmhouse home in rural Dundee, a loss that would also be tragic for his beloved dog, Archie.
Beneath this story run the narratives of several strong women connected to Cal who are learning just how powerful they can be as they change up their lives.
When a young woman walks into Caffeine Central, Cal Claxton's law office in downtown Portland, he has no idea that agreeing to help her will turn his life upside down. His new client is the adopted daughter - "I'm brown and they're white" - of a Portland power couple famed for their real estate development firm and charitable work.
Sculptor Angela Wingate, once a wild child, and her recently widowed mother, Margaret, had grown close after years of estrangement. A grieving Angela is hesitant but nonetheless determined to learn if Margaret's recent death was a hit-and-run while out on her morning jog in her ritzy neighborhood, or something more - like murder. Angela is frustrated at the lagging police investigation and by her growing sense of something sinister at work.
As the ever-curious Cal begins to poke the principal players at Wingate Properties and to question Margaret's will, links surface between a lucrative riverfront project and a ruthless Russian ring. With a possible deadly foreign assassin in play, the threat level rises and the body count starts to grow.
Decidedly outgunned, Cal enlists his Cuban friend Nando, an enterprising investigator with an on-call hacker, and a bouncer at a strip club who knows the Russian underworld. And Cal gradually develops other allies - a skeptical police captain and a city councilwoman who opposes the massive riverfront project. In a separate battle, he recruits neighbors and officials who may help him kill the reboot of a quarry operation that threatens his beloved farmhouse home in rural Dundee, a loss that would also be tragic for his beloved dog, Archie.
Beneath this story run the narratives of several strong women connected to Cal who are learning just how powerful they can be as they change up their lives.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2018
29 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Warren C. Easley
11 books42 followersFormerly a research scientist and international business executive, Easley lives in Oregon where he writes fiction, hikes, skis, and fly fishes. As the author of the Cal Claxton Mysteries, he received a Kay Snow national award for fiction and was named the Northwest's Up and Coming Author by Willamette Writers. His fifth book in the series, Blood for Wine, was short-listed for the coveted Nero Wolfe Award and his eighth book, No Witness, won the Spotted Owl Award for the best mystery written by an author living in the greater Northwest, including Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 8, 2018
This is only the second in this wonderful series that I have read, featuring lawyer Cal Claxton set in Portland, Oregon, and already I feel a great sense of affection for it. Cal is a widower who changed the course of his life when his wife died in LA. His career ambitions have dampened considerably and he now does a substantial amount of pro bono work, operating out of his downtown Portland office at Caffeine Central. He has a farmhouse in rural Dundee, a beautiful dog, Archie, whom he adores and a girlfriend, Winona. He is hired by young, feisty ex-wildchild metal sculptor, Angela Wingate, adopted by the wealthy Wingates. She had troubled teenage years, but eventually began addressing her issues and reconciled with her beloved mother, Margaret, recently killed in a hit and run whilst jogging. A grieving Angela feels the police have done little to find the perpetrator and is keen for Cal to look into the incident. Meanwhile, to Cal's horror, a derelict quarry just outside his farmhouse is being quarried again, the explosions terrorise Archie, and the powerlessness of the local community to halt it has Cal considering the dreadful possibility of having to sell.
Margaret's curious will, along with her recent change of heart in the direction Wingate Properties, a real estate development company were moving in, particularly regarding the controversial upmarket waterfront development, has Cal looking at Melvyn Turner, lawyer and CEO Brice Avery. With more murder, and a dangerous assassin on the scene, the lives of Cal and his client, Angela are endangered. He joins forces with a local councillor who is unhappy about the river front project, gets useful information from an old Russian ally, now working as a bouncer, and brings in good friend, Cuban PI Hernandes 'Nando' Mendoza with his helpful connections to a skilful hacker. He is going to need all the help he can get as he comes up against powerful and corrupt global forces and the Russian Mafia. Cal's relationship with Winona has become troubled and looks to be heading to an end, which upsets him considerably. As Cal toys with the idea of selling his Dundee farmhouse at a loss, his fight against the quarrying receives an unexpected boost from Google.
Warren C. Easley has created a great central character in Cal, an endearing man who is willing to go up against the mighty corrupt forces that are willing to murder to further their agenda. Even when the FBI tell him to drop his investigations, and his career is threatened, he just will not let go. He has a close knit group of friends who are loyal and willing to do everything they can to help him. I particularly enjoyed the scenes that show Angela working on her current sculpting project, The Jogging Woman, a tribute to her mother. This is a great series, with a strong sense of location. I loved reading this entertaining, tense and suspenseful addition to the series and recommend it highly. Many thanks to Poisoned Press for an ARC.
Margaret's curious will, along with her recent change of heart in the direction Wingate Properties, a real estate development company were moving in, particularly regarding the controversial upmarket waterfront development, has Cal looking at Melvyn Turner, lawyer and CEO Brice Avery. With more murder, and a dangerous assassin on the scene, the lives of Cal and his client, Angela are endangered. He joins forces with a local councillor who is unhappy about the river front project, gets useful information from an old Russian ally, now working as a bouncer, and brings in good friend, Cuban PI Hernandes 'Nando' Mendoza with his helpful connections to a skilful hacker. He is going to need all the help he can get as he comes up against powerful and corrupt global forces and the Russian Mafia. Cal's relationship with Winona has become troubled and looks to be heading to an end, which upsets him considerably. As Cal toys with the idea of selling his Dundee farmhouse at a loss, his fight against the quarrying receives an unexpected boost from Google.
Warren C. Easley has created a great central character in Cal, an endearing man who is willing to go up against the mighty corrupt forces that are willing to murder to further their agenda. Even when the FBI tell him to drop his investigations, and his career is threatened, he just will not let go. He has a close knit group of friends who are loyal and willing to do everything they can to help him. I particularly enjoyed the scenes that show Angela working on her current sculpting project, The Jogging Woman, a tribute to her mother. This is a great series, with a strong sense of location. I loved reading this entertaining, tense and suspenseful addition to the series and recommend it highly. Many thanks to Poisoned Press for an ARC.
August 29, 2018
“Moving Targets” by Warren C Easley book six in the Cal Claxton series, but it stands alone, and a new reader will have no trouble enjoying it. This is another compelling story set in scenic Portland, Oregon. LA transplant now local lawyer, Cal Claxton, has a new client, Angela, a free-spirit sculptor and adopted daughter of a local real estate power couple. Angela’s current project is entitled, “The Jogging Woman,” a tribute to her mother, Margaret, who was recently killed in a hit-and-run accident. Of course, according to Angela, the police are doing little if anything to find the culprit, and she wants Cal to investigate.
Angela has also recently taken a new look Wingate Properties and its controversial upmarket waterfront development, and that stirs thing up as well. Local government entanglements, political connections, a dangerous assassin, and even the Russian mob all add to the complications. The action and tension escalate, and Angela’s mother is not the only murder victim along the way.
Easley interweaves a side plot when Cal discovers that an abandoned quarry next to his farmhouse in rural property is being mined once again. The explosions are terrorizing his dog Archie, and the local community seems to be powerless to halt the mining. Cal contemplates the possibility of having to sell.
The characters are strong, complex, and well developed. They evolve into powerful forces for change. Readers quickly connect with the whole cast. The plot is attention grabbing and engaging.
I received a review copy of “Moving Targets” from Warren C Easley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Edelweiss. It is well written and captivating to read. The multifaceted yet believable characters really make the story. I recommend it to everyone.
Angela has also recently taken a new look Wingate Properties and its controversial upmarket waterfront development, and that stirs thing up as well. Local government entanglements, political connections, a dangerous assassin, and even the Russian mob all add to the complications. The action and tension escalate, and Angela’s mother is not the only murder victim along the way.
Easley interweaves a side plot when Cal discovers that an abandoned quarry next to his farmhouse in rural property is being mined once again. The explosions are terrorizing his dog Archie, and the local community seems to be powerless to halt the mining. Cal contemplates the possibility of having to sell.
The characters are strong, complex, and well developed. They evolve into powerful forces for change. Readers quickly connect with the whole cast. The plot is attention grabbing and engaging.
I received a review copy of “Moving Targets” from Warren C Easley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Edelweiss. It is well written and captivating to read. The multifaceted yet believable characters really make the story. I recommend it to everyone.
October 31, 2018
Moving Targets is the sixth book in Warren C. Easley’s mystery series featuring Portland lawyer Cal Claxton. When Angela Wingate came into Claxton’s law office in Old Town to ask him to look for the hit-and-run driver who killed her mother, neither of them had any idea there was more to her death than an unfortunate accident and an unrepentant driver. As soon as Claxton begin looking into it, though, her mother’s lawyer and the CEO of the family business betrayed suspicious hostility. Digging deeper, Claxton discovers a conspiracy so outlandish, he’s not quite sure how to resolve it. Worse, the investigation as put a target on Angela and his back, putting them in the crosshairs of a very dangerous killer.
Moving Targets inhabits Portland completely, capturing the look and feel of the city and its unique zeitgeist. The story is rooted in the real conflicts about the future of the city, the constant gentrification and the sense the city is losing its identity as the people who make Portland weird are driven out by rising housing costs.
The story also inhabits contemporary America. Angela’s mother is changed by her participation in the Women’s March. Claxton’s lover Winona is changed by traveling to Standing Rock to protest DAPL, leading her to question their relationship. Portland has been the focus of federal investigations into the Russian mob and the population of immigrants is significant enough that recent local surveys at a clinic and a performance have added Slavic to the usual ethnic identifiers.
The mystery is fair, scrupulously so. I had an idea where the story was going by the time I was a third of the way through. More players were added in time, but the general outline was visible and just needed filling in. This may frustrate some readers who prefer more mystery to their mysteries. I prefer it when the detective can grasp the big picture quickly even if there’s no concrete evidence. That’s this story, Claxton’s problem isn’t so much wondering what is going on, it’s how to prove it.
My biggest complaint about Moving Targets is that I discovered this series on the sixth book, not the first. However, that does mean I have five books to look forward to that I expect to be enjoyable. I confess I may rate it more highly than someone who lives, say, in Coral Gables. A lot of my pleasure came in the sheer Portlandness of it. I know where he is in my city. I have been to those places, eaten at Pambiche, and enjoyed the exhilaration of a sunny day in a rainy spring. There were a couple places where the foreshadowing approached had-I-but-known territory, but other than that, the writing was engaging and evocative.
For organizers and activists made anxious by rising nationalism and corruption in our politics, Claxton has something to offer too, a reminder that the arc is long, and that sometimes the struggle is the reward. Wise words and a reminder that even when we know we will lose, we must still resist. If our reward is the struggle, that is still better than accepting injustice.
I received a copy of Moving Targets from the publisher through NetGalley.
Moving Targets at Poisoned Pen Press
Warren C. Easley author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
Moving Targets inhabits Portland completely, capturing the look and feel of the city and its unique zeitgeist. The story is rooted in the real conflicts about the future of the city, the constant gentrification and the sense the city is losing its identity as the people who make Portland weird are driven out by rising housing costs.
The story also inhabits contemporary America. Angela’s mother is changed by her participation in the Women’s March. Claxton’s lover Winona is changed by traveling to Standing Rock to protest DAPL, leading her to question their relationship. Portland has been the focus of federal investigations into the Russian mob and the population of immigrants is significant enough that recent local surveys at a clinic and a performance have added Slavic to the usual ethnic identifiers.
The mystery is fair, scrupulously so. I had an idea where the story was going by the time I was a third of the way through. More players were added in time, but the general outline was visible and just needed filling in. This may frustrate some readers who prefer more mystery to their mysteries. I prefer it when the detective can grasp the big picture quickly even if there’s no concrete evidence. That’s this story, Claxton’s problem isn’t so much wondering what is going on, it’s how to prove it.
My biggest complaint about Moving Targets is that I discovered this series on the sixth book, not the first. However, that does mean I have five books to look forward to that I expect to be enjoyable. I confess I may rate it more highly than someone who lives, say, in Coral Gables. A lot of my pleasure came in the sheer Portlandness of it. I know where he is in my city. I have been to those places, eaten at Pambiche, and enjoyed the exhilaration of a sunny day in a rainy spring. There were a couple places where the foreshadowing approached had-I-but-known territory, but other than that, the writing was engaging and evocative.
For organizers and activists made anxious by rising nationalism and corruption in our politics, Claxton has something to offer too, a reminder that the arc is long, and that sometimes the struggle is the reward. Wise words and a reminder that even when we know we will lose, we must still resist. If our reward is the struggle, that is still better than accepting injustice.
I received a copy of Moving Targets from the publisher through NetGalley.
Moving Targets at Poisoned Pen Press
Warren C. Easley author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
October 24, 2018
When sculptor Angela Wingate walks into Cal Claxton’s pro-bono law office in downtown Portland to ask him to look into the hit-and-run death of her mother, he finds himself entangled in an urban development scheme that could cost him his practice and perhaps his life.
Angela is the adopted daughter of the late Margaret Wingate, a socially prominent activist who was run down on her morning jog in her upscale Portland neighborhood a few months earlier. Police have written it off as an accident, but Angela has been going through her mother’s papers and found reason to believe that it may have been murder. Cal agrees to look into it. At the same time, the long-inactive stone quarry adjacent to his house is brought back to life as dynamite blasts and caravans of gravel trucks line up next to his once peaceful home. Is there a connection?
"Even if you’ve never been to Portland, Easley writes with such a strong sense of place that it puts you right in the scene that many writers try, but often fail, to accomplish."
The same law firm that handled Angela’s mother’s legal affairs is backing a controversial upscale urban renewal development on the Portland waterfront. Margaret had expressed her concerns about it only days before her death, because it would displace modest income housing and change the face of Portland’s popular laid-back arts, entertainment and dining scene. Once Cal studies a copy of Margaret’s will, which appears to leave a large donation to the project, he begins to dig deeper. When two more bodies turn up, Angela and Cal find themselves the target of the local press, politics, payoffs and Russian oligarchs.
Cal, a former LA prosecutor, had left a demanding career behind after it destroyed his marriage and took the life of his wife a few years earlier. He bought a rambling old farmhouse on an acreage overlooking the Willamette Valley in the red wine country outside of Portland to open a small private law practice. He could make his own hours, handle divorces, draw up wills, spend his leisure time fly fishing for steelhead trout, partake of the local wines and take runs with Archie, his Australian shepherd. That was the plan. With the opening of his pro-bono law office in downtown Portland, he finds himself on the other end of the legal system --- defending clients instead of prosecuting offenders.
Cal has grown to love the whole “Keep Portland Weird” scene in the arts neighborhood where he hung his shingle in a former coffee shop. He especially enjoys the peace and quiet of his creaking old farmhouse on the cliff above an abandoned rock quarry. When he finds that both are threatened by the elaborate glitzy condominium/business complex on the Portland waterfront, it gets personal.
Warren C. Easley has created an entertaining cast of engaging characters in his five prior novels, but if MOVING TARGETS is your first dip into the series, he sets the scene of this fast-moving mystery so you can keep up. Each of these books can be enjoyed as stand-alones, so if you're a newcomer, you don’t have to go back to the opening installment, BLOOD FOR WINE. But I highly recommend that you do. Even if you’ve never been to Portland, Easley writes with such a strong sense of place that it puts you right in the scene that many writers try, but often fail, to accomplish.
One of my favorites in the series is DEAD FLOAT. As a child, I accompanied my father and uncle on weeks-long trout fishing trips in the Rockies. Fly fishing was never this deadly, fortunately, but Easley helps me escape to those halcyon days of my youth. As a bonus, he often whips up a mouthwatering menu of Northwest coastal cuisine, always served with panache and the correct wine. Isn’t that what reading is all about? Sometimes it is to inform, but even more often it is to escape.
Reviewed by Roz Shea
Angela is the adopted daughter of the late Margaret Wingate, a socially prominent activist who was run down on her morning jog in her upscale Portland neighborhood a few months earlier. Police have written it off as an accident, but Angela has been going through her mother’s papers and found reason to believe that it may have been murder. Cal agrees to look into it. At the same time, the long-inactive stone quarry adjacent to his house is brought back to life as dynamite blasts and caravans of gravel trucks line up next to his once peaceful home. Is there a connection?
"Even if you’ve never been to Portland, Easley writes with such a strong sense of place that it puts you right in the scene that many writers try, but often fail, to accomplish."
The same law firm that handled Angela’s mother’s legal affairs is backing a controversial upscale urban renewal development on the Portland waterfront. Margaret had expressed her concerns about it only days before her death, because it would displace modest income housing and change the face of Portland’s popular laid-back arts, entertainment and dining scene. Once Cal studies a copy of Margaret’s will, which appears to leave a large donation to the project, he begins to dig deeper. When two more bodies turn up, Angela and Cal find themselves the target of the local press, politics, payoffs and Russian oligarchs.
Cal, a former LA prosecutor, had left a demanding career behind after it destroyed his marriage and took the life of his wife a few years earlier. He bought a rambling old farmhouse on an acreage overlooking the Willamette Valley in the red wine country outside of Portland to open a small private law practice. He could make his own hours, handle divorces, draw up wills, spend his leisure time fly fishing for steelhead trout, partake of the local wines and take runs with Archie, his Australian shepherd. That was the plan. With the opening of his pro-bono law office in downtown Portland, he finds himself on the other end of the legal system --- defending clients instead of prosecuting offenders.
Cal has grown to love the whole “Keep Portland Weird” scene in the arts neighborhood where he hung his shingle in a former coffee shop. He especially enjoys the peace and quiet of his creaking old farmhouse on the cliff above an abandoned rock quarry. When he finds that both are threatened by the elaborate glitzy condominium/business complex on the Portland waterfront, it gets personal.
Warren C. Easley has created an entertaining cast of engaging characters in his five prior novels, but if MOVING TARGETS is your first dip into the series, he sets the scene of this fast-moving mystery so you can keep up. Each of these books can be enjoyed as stand-alones, so if you're a newcomer, you don’t have to go back to the opening installment, BLOOD FOR WINE. But I highly recommend that you do. Even if you’ve never been to Portland, Easley writes with such a strong sense of place that it puts you right in the scene that many writers try, but often fail, to accomplish.
One of my favorites in the series is DEAD FLOAT. As a child, I accompanied my father and uncle on weeks-long trout fishing trips in the Rockies. Fly fishing was never this deadly, fortunately, but Easley helps me escape to those halcyon days of my youth. As a bonus, he often whips up a mouthwatering menu of Northwest coastal cuisine, always served with panache and the correct wine. Isn’t that what reading is all about? Sometimes it is to inform, but even more often it is to escape.
Reviewed by Roz Shea
September 4, 2018
Cal Claxton is a man of many talents running a mostly pro bono law office in downtown Portland. He left his life as a prosecutor in Los Angeles to open his small law office in the former Caffeine Central and would rather be fishing…with his faithful dog Archie. A young sculptor named Angela Wingate asks Cal to check in to the hit and run death of her mother, Margaret. Although her mother was a very well-known and respected member of the community, the police have no leads in the case. Was her mother’s death an accident or murder? After her father’s death, Angela’s mother became responsible for Wingate Properties and Cal finds that there are issues over a proposed riverfront project as well as Margaret’s will. Cal is also trying to prove that the reopening of a quarry near his home is illegal, knowing that this will ruin the area near his and his neighbors’ homes. This is the sixth book in the Cal Claxton series and I have read and loved every book. This is a must-read series! In my opinion, Mr. Easley’s books are reminiscent of the Robert Parker and David Rosenfelt books. There is action, mystery, suspense and humor as Cal and his friends follow each new lead taking the reader along for the ride. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to give an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
January 7, 2019
How have I missed this terrific series by an Oregon author and set in Portland, with all of the weird Portland character. This was a well written, realistically plotted story with a charismatic and clever protagonist in Cal Claxton.
Attempting to launder money through a real estate development designed for the wealthy, a Russian oligarch is fronted by Wingate Properties lead by CEO Brice Avery. When Margaret Wingate attends the Women's March with her daughter Angela, she returns to Portland a changed person, and wants to redirect the North Project including affordable housing. It leads to her murder and multiple other deaths by an assassin Grabar. A forged will leads Cal to question the supposed hit and run as murder and begins to investigate through his friend Nando and a hacker.
At the same time Cal is dealing with the quarry below his Dundee farm restarting mining gravel. There is supposedly more than 12 years since mining stopped which would necessitate a new permit, but the sand and gravel company goes ahead with the mining claiming that they had continued to sell gravel past the close of the previous mining. Cal comes up with proof of forged receipts and Google photos to support that the company is lying and saves his home.
Excellent series...
Attempting to launder money through a real estate development designed for the wealthy, a Russian oligarch is fronted by Wingate Properties lead by CEO Brice Avery. When Margaret Wingate attends the Women's March with her daughter Angela, she returns to Portland a changed person, and wants to redirect the North Project including affordable housing. It leads to her murder and multiple other deaths by an assassin Grabar. A forged will leads Cal to question the supposed hit and run as murder and begins to investigate through his friend Nando and a hacker.
At the same time Cal is dealing with the quarry below his Dundee farm restarting mining gravel. There is supposedly more than 12 years since mining stopped which would necessitate a new permit, but the sand and gravel company goes ahead with the mining claiming that they had continued to sell gravel past the close of the previous mining. Cal comes up with proof of forged receipts and Google photos to support that the company is lying and saves his home.
Excellent series...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2019
I really enjoyed "Moving Targets", although admittedly it is because it is based in Portland, where I work and Dundee, where I go for my favorite wine. I actually liked this better than the first Cal Claxton novel I read "Blood for Wine" even though that had a wine theme. This story had a bit more intertest and complexity.
Cal Claxton is an extremely likeable protaganist with good taste in food and drink. His friends are interesting. In this novel his investigation involves a big development slated for Portland's north waterfront. Easley presents Portland and it's issues quite well here. It's a page turning narrative with a good though predictable mystery and outcome.
I must say that I like these novels for the local interest, but the writing, while good, comes off as a bit like a travelogue and hobby than literary or especially creative. Nothing wrong with some books that are just easy and homey. I'll be back for more Cal Claxton.
Cal Claxton is an extremely likeable protaganist with good taste in food and drink. His friends are interesting. In this novel his investigation involves a big development slated for Portland's north waterfront. Easley presents Portland and it's issues quite well here. It's a page turning narrative with a good though predictable mystery and outcome.
I must say that I like these novels for the local interest, but the writing, while good, comes off as a bit like a travelogue and hobby than literary or especially creative. Nothing wrong with some books that are just easy and homey. I'll be back for more Cal Claxton.
September 2, 2018
Someone killed Margaret and her daughter Angela wants to know who and why so she wisely hires Cal Claxton, who never backs down. Cal is a terrific character who is empathetic when appropriate and hard as nails at other times. There's an underlying topical plot to the mystery, complete with Russians and conspiracies and so on, but it's well done and actually fresh. I very much liked how Portland and the surrounding area are wrapped in. Cal's friends (and his dog) are neat and they, like Cal himself, are multitalented. This is the sort of mystery that will have you nodding your head as things proceed. It's just complex enough without being too intense. I wish I'd read all of the books that preceded this one, not because there was any confusion but simply for the pleasure of it. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next one.
July 2, 2018
Cal is a former assistant DA, currently a practicing lawyer, widowed, has a daughter in grad school across the country, a lovely old home out in the country but unfortunately close to a nonworking quarry operation, has good and helpful friends, and best of all is his big friendly dog. Enter the client highlighted in the publisher's blurb. The action and tension escalate as more vile characters are added in and the body count rises.
The characters are interesting and engaging, and the plot is ingenious. I have never read anything by this author before and can't figure out why. I plan to remedy that lack shortly.
I requested and received a free review copy via NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. Thank you!
The characters are interesting and engaging, and the plot is ingenious. I have never read anything by this author before and can't figure out why. I plan to remedy that lack shortly.
I requested and received a free review copy via NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. Thank you!
August 10, 2018
This is a well written novel. I love how the characters come alive on the pages. Its great when a book has mystery, action, and suspense, as this one delivers. No spoilers here...but Cal is an awesome guy!!
January 13, 2023
10/10. A great book with two storylines: Murders in PDX and a land use issue in Dundee. Never a dull moment! I enjoy the development of the main character’s interactions with and help from his close friends and community.
October 12, 2018
Regional Portland mystery. Characters have depth, interesting plot threads. If you miss Sue Grafton, you can start reading this when you are done with Y.
March 11, 2019
More a 3.5 star. I enjoyed the previous books in the series, but this one never quite hooked me...
June 25, 2019
Did not read all of this touchy-feely conservationist story of big power against soulful people who love animals very much. Not my style.
September 3, 2019
I find this series relatively light and enjoyable; also love the setting of Portland and other areas of Oregon.
May 14, 2025
Another good, Portland-based mystery. This one involved an inheritance, gentrification, and the housing shortage. Very enjoyable.
February 4, 2021
I recently moved to the Portland area and decided to get in the mood with a book set in the city. My introduction to this series turned out to be a good pick, as the Rose City, its neighborhoods and local color are among the prime characters of this book. The story and human characters were fine, too - enough where I’ll double back to the start of the series.
July 27, 2018
My first from this author and it’s a doozy. It gave me the feeling of 1 man against greed and lies for his and his community’s quality of life. I could ‘see’ his home, hear the rumble of nonstop construction. Interesting and plausible
Free from the publisher and netgalley for honest review
Free from the publisher and netgalley for honest review
September 4, 2018
A very good read, a great plot and a cast of interesting characters.
Everything feels right in this book and there're also great descriptions of Portland.
It's a page turner that you cannot put down.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC
Everything feels right in this book and there're also great descriptions of Portland.
It's a page turner that you cannot put down.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC
March 25, 2019
Well-written and totally entertaining. Cal Claxton, a Portland lawyer, takes on Angela Wingate's investigation into the hit-and-run death of her mother. The investigation branches into high-end real estate, money laundering and several other murders while putting Cal and his cohorts at risk. Definitely will check out previous novels in this series.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews