Parts Unknown: A Devlin Kirk Mystery

Devlin Kirk #2

by Rex Burns

When private investigator Devlin Kirk and his associate, Bunchcroft, come to the aid of a family friend whose nephew is missing, they uncover a bizarre plot involving some doctors who match organ donors and recipients for a large fee

Paperback

First published November 19, 1990

About the author

Rex Burns (b. 1935) is the author of numerous thrillers set in and around Denver, Colorado. Born in California, he served in the Marine Corps and attended Stanford University and the University of Minnesota before becoming a writer. His Edgar Award–winning first novel, The Alvarez Journal (1975), introduced Gabe Wager, a Denver police detective first working in an organized crime unit, then in homicide. Burns continued this hardboiled series through ten more novels, concluding it with 1997’s The Leaning Land. His second series (3 volumes) features Devlin Kirk and "Bunch" Bunchcroft, a private investigator series set in Colorado. The third series, beginning in 2013, follows the adventures of a father/daughter private detective team. The first, "Body Slam," focuses on the world of professional wrestling. The second, set in England and the Middle East, deals with theft from an oil tanker. His short story series, appearing in "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine," features Aboriginal Constable Leonard Smith of the Western Australia Police.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a good summary of the story on Goodreads. Part of the appeal for me was the Denver setting, and overall, it was a good plot. To me, there were a few technical and medical parts that went into way too much detail. But the fact that the book was written in 1990, and the immigration story is still just as pertinent today, makes it hold up very well. It was interesting to have detectives working by actually making phone calls, driving to see people, using paper maps, and phone books. Whoa Nelly!

So the basic plot involves two cases the guys are working on; one is paying and the other is pro bono. An insurance company has hired them to get evidence of insurance fraud. The other case involves three missing illegal Salvadoran immigrants and paying for medical body parts. Lots of beating up, gunshots, and violence, but after all, it is about detectives, motorcycle gangs, big money, and death.