Every year California wildfires become big news stories. Imagine if one of these fires got set to cover up a crime. That is the jumping off point for Doug Richardson’s new book Hip Slick and Dead.
Lucky Dey is a semi-retired LA county sheriff’s deputy. He mostly puts in hours doing background checks but from time to time will get in uniform to aid in special assignments. During a rash of fires they ask Deputy Dey to be in uniform to help with neighborhood evacuations.
Unfortunately for Lucky he ends up meeting a resident insistent on returning home to check on a priceless collection. After a minor physical altercation the resident evacuates. A day later that resident finds his collection missing and suspects Lucky as being in on the theft.
There are several other sub plots in the book but I don’t want to spoil anything. Eventually Lucky has to go on the run to as the criminals he is chasing, start hunt his family.
The author writes in a style I love to use when writing a police procedural. Some chapters are told from the view of the criminal. Other chapters are then the officer reacting to the situation. The author uses the technique brilliantly. Many chapters end in a cliff hanger only to pick that same situation up from a different point of view. Keep in mind many of these cliff hanger chapters don’t resolved in the first paragraph of the next chapter.
Anyone looking for a good police procedural novel will enjoy Hip Slick and Dead. Make sure to pick up your copy on Amazon today.