Final Departure, by Steve Pickens

[Ulysses]

Final Departure (Jake Finnegan 1)
By Steve Pickens
Published by Bold Stroke Books, 2016
Five stars

I’m so glad to have discovered this two-book series by Steve Pickens. Jake Finnegan is a ferry pilot on the waterways north of Seattle, an area I’ve visited just once. The ferry system in northwest Washington is unique in the country, and thus a clever way to give this book a distinctive character simply based on geography. As the story opens, Jake is anticipating the return of his longtime partner, Sam O’Connor, from six months in Australia. Sam’s a naval architect, and this long sojourn away from home was to solidify a plan that would establish their business and their future.

The boys live in Arrow Bay, a fictitious town that could be one of any number of similar places in the north of Washington State. It is cozy and picturesque, and close enough to Seattle and its attractions. All in all, with Sam’s return imminent, Jake is as happy as could be.

Then a dead body turns up in an abandoned car on Jake’s boat, the Elwha, bringing with it a host of troubles, not the least of which are Jake’s memories of the unsolved murder of his childhood friend, Chris Aponte. When the obvious murder is declared a suicide, Jake, Sam, and their friends are drawn into an investigation that gets increasingly puzzling and dangerous.

Jake and Sam are great characters: believable, appealing, and imperfect. But the book is not just about them, but about their friends, their families, and the community around them. The action in the book is well seasoned with personal interactions, keeping Jake and Sam real, and reminding the reader how loved they are by the people around them. Just when things are supposed to be going smoothly, as their future life as a couple begins to take shape, danger casts its shadow over their idyllic life.

I’m glad Pickens wrote a second book in this series, because I wasn’t ready to give them up yet.