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Ed Lynskey has done it again. In his new mystery, The Blue Cheer, Lynskey brings back Frank Johnson (from The Dirt-Brown Derby), the PI who moves from his hometown of Pelham, Virginia to a mountaintop cabin in Scarab, West Virginia, to find a little peace and quiet. Everything was going well for Frank until a Stinger rocket exploded in his back yard. While investigating the rocket�s origins, Johnson discovers a racist cult called The Blue Cheer, and then people close to him begin turning up dead. Frank and his bounty hunter friend, Gerald Peyton, uncover the group�s terrorist activities and work to stop them. Complicating matters for Frank, however, is the prison escape of his death-row inmate cousin, Rod Bellwether�because the sheriff thinks Frank knows something about it.
The Blue Cheer is a story that grips the reader at once and is hard to put
down. The plot�s twists and turns are rapid-fire, and the characters are
all too human. Everything I said about Frank Johnson�s character in my
review of The Dirt-Brown Derby holds true here. Johnson is a regular guy�witty, but with flaws. Old Man Maddox, Frank�s best friend in Scarab, has
a CIA past and a remarkable devotion to his much younger wife. We also meet a
myriad of other characters: Dr. Thomas, the physician/undertaker, Hattie
McGraw, a blind mountain dweller, and various dirty law enforcement types.
Mystery fans should pick up a copy of The Blue Cheer. While it�s a very
satisfying read, it will still leave you wanting more.
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