Camelback Falls

David Mapstone Mystery #2

by Jon Talton

"In the quiet of my forgotten office in the old country courthouse, behind the plastic doorplate that reads 'Deputy David Mapstone, Sheriff's Office Historian', I fiddled with the tribal fashion of cops. The tan uniform blouse with epaulets and pocket flaps, the opening above the pocket made for a cheap Cross pen, and the gold-plated 'MCSO' letters running parallel on each side of the collars. An off-white felt Stetson sat on my desk. We might be one of the largest urban counties in the United States, but we kept our Old West traditions...." Historian-turned-deputy-sheriff David Mapstone returns in this exciting sequel to Jon Talton's Concrete Desert. When his friend Peralta, newly sworn in as sheriff, is shot by a sniper, "History Shamus" Mapstone can't keep a cool, academic distance. And he'd better while Peralta lies comatose in the hospital, the powers-that-be appoint Mapstone acting Sheriff in his place. Mapstone feels unqualified, but he's the only person who's temporary appointment won't infuriate all the other candidates who want the Sheriff's position permanently. Meanwhile, a cryptic note scrawled by Peralta before the shooting forces Mapstone to confront his own personal history, which has drawn him unwittingly into danger. As Mapstone discovers, the past has deadly consequences. The mean streets of the New West have never been more sinister.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Procedural, Westerns

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 2003

About the author

Jon Talton is the author of the David Mapstone novels, which follow the adventures of a historian-turned-deputy, working the mean streets of the urban West.

Jon's first novel, "Concrete Desert," was hailed by Kirkus as "an impressive debut." The Washington Post said it "is more intelligent and rewarding than most contemporary mysteries." The series has continued with "Camelback Falls," "Dry Heat," "Arizona Dreams" and "Cactus Heart." "Dry Heat" received Arizona Highways magazine's best fiction award in 2005.

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for Camelback Falls: David Mapstone Mystery, Book 2 (audiobook) by Jon Talton read by Jim Meskimen.

The Sheriff of Maricopa County has been shot and has been hospitalized. He’s going to be alright but it’ll be a while before he can resume his job. So the reluctance David Mapstone has been named as acting Sheriff. And he’s going to use his unique talents to figure out who shot the Sheriff.

The story is fine but I’m really reading this one for the setting. I love reading books that take place in cities that I’ve been to and there’s no metropolitan area that I know better. The action is taking place on streets that I travel all the time and they are talking about restaurants that I’ve been to. They even had a foot chase into the I10 Deck Park Tunnel. As if the traffic through there wasn’t bad enough now I have to worry about pedestrians.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars really. Likeable characters in a mystery worthy of the title. Enjoyed the story.

[Mariam Cheshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don Bolles was blown up in his car about a block from where I was working in Phoenix. I followed the in's and out's of hunting for his murderers for years until it finally all went away. Mapstone is with the Sheriff's department in this fiction book but anyone who lived in Phoenix at the time would recognize the good guys and the bad guys. Jon Talton did a wonderful job of telling the story of mis-justice. It's a good book if there never was a living journalist killed -- and it's a wow story if you recognized the behind the scene story.
Mariam Cheshire, author of "Stories About the Hotel Westward Ho"

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 David Mapstone -- Love the Phoenix setting but the mystery and complications did not suck me in. Mapstone is named acting sheriff when his friend Sheriff Peralta is shot in the line of duty.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oct. 2019 Second in the Mapstone series. fast paced.I'm glad the ending wasn't farfetched like in some series. Sort of "where did that come from?". the main characters are quite likable and complicated. It was a good mix of life in 1970 and now. We lived in Phoenix from 1971 to 1979. I could definitely relate to many of the 1970s flashbacks.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Peralta has been elected sheriff of Maricopa county. t a reception for him. He is shot and lays in a coma in a Phoenix hospital. David Mapstone is appointed acting sheriff as all the conflicting parties could agree on him. Before the shooting, Mike mentioned Camelback Falls. As David works to find answers for the shooting an escaped convict asked to see him alone. Going to the location finds a retired deputy murder and the briefcase carries information on an incident that happened when Mike was David's mentor. The material is unfavorable to Mike. Before long, David with his girlfriend, Lindsey and a co-worker are running for their lives. David must learn the meaning of Came back Falls and who the River Boys were in order to save their lives and reputations. I highly recommend this series.

PS: I have read both Gunn's and Webb's books. They are written from a woman's point of view. This series is written from a man viewpoint. All three are super stories of the southwestern United States.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jon has a long-term relationship with Phoenix and his growing list of mysteries is as much a series of essays on life, crime, and urban development in Arizona as it is a set of who-done-its. He also has a blog about Arizona he writes from his current home in the Pacific Northwest http://roguecolumnist.com. Camelback Falls a good page turner. Keeps you reading and guessing up until the end. Good book for your summer sit-by-the-pool-with-a-cool-one reading list.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great series. It helps that I really like Phoenix, AZ, but the plots of the two books I've read so far are a bit different that the usual, I like the characters, and the author develops the characters and the story convincingly. Hope there are more to come...

[julie a storm]

Entertaining

I found this to be an entertaining read. I would recommend it.
Kept me reading to see how it ended.

[Eric B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. Picked this up at a used book sale, first time I've read this author. Good police mystery with some strangeness. Not all of it believable, but an easy and enjoyable read.

[Paul Backalenick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate a good police procedural, but this one was all over the map. On the one hand, there is a criminal mystery here to solve. It takes a while to emerge so I was not really clear for some time what the objective was, but once I got there, fine, let’s see who did what and why. At the same time, it is the story of a history professor thrust into the role of Acting Sheriff. He feels ill-suited to the position, but is in fact quite competent and a reasonable choice for the job. With apparent false modesty, he claims he was put in the role because he would not ruffle feathers and was simply a placeholder until the actual Sheriff recovered from a coma.
On a positive note, I particularly enjoyed the realistic setting. The author clearly knows the Phoenix, Arizona environment well. That rang true for me. The street names, weather, and mountain and desert scenery all felt palpable and believable.
But I have a few significant issues with this book. First, a lot of the dialog felt superficial and contrived. It just didn’t captivate me with the danger and tension the reader was expected to feel. Second, I had some trouble keeping the multiple stories straight. That confusion lasted too long. Was this a story about theft, drug dealing, police corruption and payoffs, or maybe even sex trafficking? These are all good subjects for a police novel, but here they were jumbled together and I wasn’t sure what issue the characters were really wrestling with. Lastly, I simply did not like the main character, David Mapstone. I realize he is a recurring figure in Talton’s books. Somehow, I kept thinking Mapstone was a stand-in for the author himself, i.e., who he wished to be. Mapstone has a stunningly beautiful, smart, and tough girlfriend who adores him, of course. He claims to be a gentle, unassuming soul, yet he repeatedly shows how tough and brave he is, a man of action, taking risks. A lot of false modesty, in my opinion.
I did finish the book because I was just interested enough to see what happened to the original Sheriff. And that question was resolved in the last few pages rather quickly and a little too neatly. All in all, there is a reasonable story here, with a great realistic Phoenix setting, but the story was confusing, with a rather unlikable protagonist and shallow dialog.

[Linda (The Arizona Bookstagrammer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Camelback Falls” by Jon Talton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ While David Mapstone happily researches cold cases for Arizona’s Maricopa County Sheriffs’ Department, his boss, Chief Detective Peralta, is elected sheriff. When Peralta is shot and ends up in a coma, David is appointed Acting Sheriff, thanks to office politics. A cryptic note on new Sheriff Peralta’s calendar leads Dave and his fiancé Lindsey toward the possibility of corruption within the Sheriff’s Department, and soon they are running for their lives while trying to figure out the meanings of “Camelback Falls” and “River Hogs“. This is book 2 in a series that blends evocative descriptions of old and new Phoenix/Maricopa County with police procedural mysteries starring a detective with a PhD in History. I listened to this in audiobook format. The narrator was excellent -as was the story!

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Jon Talton novel. I like to start with the first book in a series as a rule, but I picked up number two. It was hard to get into a first, even with actions almost from the very start. As I read along I became more engrossed and about half way through I found myself really enjoying the characters and the story.

I particularly liked it when Mapstone became philosophical. This added some depth to go with the story and rounded out the humor and gore. There are some holes, but there's also some good writing and suspense. This seems to be one of those books whose sum is greater than it's parts. I for one, enjoyed Lindsey, the girlfriend. "Camelback Falls" has a real feel to it. I'll be reading more of the series.

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Mapstone, history professor returned to the ranks of the police, usually uses his historical research skills to handle cold cases for the department. This volume of the series begins with Mapstone being named acting sheriff for Maricopa County, Arizona, after the sheriff is shot and in a coma. All signs point to possible connections with a 1979 case where Peralta, the sheriff, and Mapstone were partners and on the scene.

Nothing is as it seemed or seems. And someone wants to "clean up" some loose ends.

I'll keep following this series; I like the fusion of mysteries and historical research.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is enough different from the usual mystery templates to keep my interest over 200-some pages. But what I really enjoyed are the tidbits about Phoenix, whether in the 1970s or the present day. It's also nice to have a protagonist who can shoot a gun but is a history nerd and generally tries to avoid violent confrontation.

[Elizabeth Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this series, David Mapstone gets tangled up in lots of good stuff with great revelations about Phoenix and its development through the years....fun read. Another "good cop/bad cop" story....and more insights to his history with Peralta and as a young sheriff years ago. He and Lindsey are not yet married in this story, hopping back and forth.
Good guy always gets his man in the end.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know some people love this series. For me, it was thin gruel. Little character, lots of bits that seemed to come out of "we need a twist here" notecards. And we get the name brand weapons and main character who keeps walking himself into being shot at.

[Steve Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mapstone and Lindsey are interesting enough characters but aren't really enough to carry the story. There are some pretty big holes that you have to overlook. The descriptions of the city and surrounding areas are vivid. I also enjoyed the local history that was mixed into the story.

[Pati Roberson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read, book 2 in the series. Nice police procedural

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[Bita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not too bad. I live in Phoenix so for me it is more interesting. Phoenix (not Arizona)is quite boring and ugly so I was very surprised to find a story set in it. Otherwise it was Ok. Not great.

[Dorman Groat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent police procedural that takes place in the greater Phoenix area in the early 2000s. Nice little "nostalgia" piece for me.

[george burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good But Too Much

At its core this is a fine mystery: fast moving and full of twists. The newly elected sheriff is shot before he is swore in and becomes comatose. His protege, David Mapstone, is made acting sheriff. It soon becomes clear that the seeds of the crime were sown twenty years earlier and involve dirty cops who remain active and homicidal. Who to trust? Unfortunately, realism is sacrificed with people who are too beautiful, too handsome and too bad. Worse, Mapstone sees his role as a detective while carrying on a juvenile romance with a police computer expert who morphs into Mapstone's sidekick and bodyguard. A good book that should have been better. If you read it there is a question: who made the 999 call?

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Mapstone is put in as acting Sheriff while new Sheriff Peralta is in critical condition because of an attempted assassination on him. Mapstone gets involved solving the case of his long time friend. He finds a connection to the attempted murder with a shoot out Peralta and he were involved in twenty years ago when they were partners on the force. Lots of twist in turns in the plot. It's an exciting read. It's a definite read if you live in the Phoenix area or are familiar with it. I live within a few miles of almost everywhere Mapstone goes, so I can visualize the setting like I'm there in the story. I already bought the next book in the series for future reading.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #2 from Seattle newspaper's business writer. Felt less like a new author than his first book, character Dr David Mapstone, ex-university professor and currently a Maricopa County Phoenix sheriff has grown on me. David's mentor has been shot and seriously wounded at the ceremony making him head sheriff and David has been named interim sheriff. So who shot Peralta and is trying to take out David too?

Couple of glaring glitches to me - Talton mentions single malt scotches a few times and the first reference to Glenlivet was misspelled, but two subsequent mentions are correct. There's also a misspelling of Macallan in there.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
Second book in the David Mapstone series, the 3rd in the series that I've read.
Mapstone is a professor of history who has been denied tenure at his university. He returns to his previous job in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office as a specialist in solving cold cases in the Phoenix area using his academic skills.
This book, and the series in general, is engaging and intelligent. I just wish his partner (as in girlfriend,) who also works in the Sheriff's Office, would stop calling him "History Shamus". It is cringe worthy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series set in Phoenix with a historian working for the Maricopa County Sheriff's. The author takes opportunities to talk about the history of buildings or specific areas while solving a cold case with impact to the present. In this one, David's friend takes on the job of Sheriff and then is shot. Common opinion in the sheriff's department is that a recent prison escapee is responsible but all is not as it seems.

[Barbara B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

What fun to read a novel that takes place right here in Phoenix! The author is a former reporter for the local newspaper. The story is very good and when there are descriptions of areas or street names, I can visualize right where it is. Plus----and that's a big plus for me----he follows a character!

[Jersey Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a step up from the first book in the series. David Mapstone finds himself as acting sheriff investigating the attempted murder of the new sheriff, his old partner. He has to recall and revisit a disturbing event they both shared some twenty years before.

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been going through some sort of Southwest crime phase, but I've enjoyed the first two Bill Gastner and David Mapstone books, looking forward to the rest. I think I'm just jealous that I'm not down there...