Ken Mercer

“There are enough problems in life as it is, Will. You don’t have to go looking for them.” – Laurie Magowan

That’s a lesson Will Magowan actually seemed to learn after his brief but intense stint as the Chief of Police of Haydenville, California in author Ken Mercer’s debut, Slow Fire. And though he’s out of a job in law enforcement in East on Sunset, Magowan is back in his hometown of L.A. and things finally seem to be heading in the right direction. He’s kicked his drinking problem, is back with his wife, who’s pregnant, and has landed a job with security for the Dodgers. Of course, you don’t have to go looking for problems for them to find you, and Mercer throws a hell of a roadblock in Magowan’s path to happiness in the form of ex-con Erik Crandall.

Crandall, a small time dealer whom Magowan sent to prison during his time as a Narcotics Detective in the LAPD, is fresh out of the joint and confronts Magowan with the accusation that Magowan stole nearly a pound of fentanyl from Crandall during his arrest. Now he either wants it back or the cash equivalent… half a million dollars. Problem is, Magowan spent his last bit of time with the LAPD in a drug induced haze and he’s actually a little fuzzy on exactly how the bust of Crandall went down. Knowing that he can’t very well tell Crandall that, and that he doesn’t have half a million dollars lying around in any event, Magowan blows Crandall off, warning him not to come around again. That goes over about as well as you’d expect it to, and with that the snowball that is East on Sunset is sent plunging on its way downhill.

Though he initially tries to do the right thing by going to the police, the cloud Magowan left the department under still follows him, making those on the force less than enthusiastic about going out of their way for him. It certainly doesn’t help matters when Magowan meets resistance from his wife about the best way to handle the situation after things take a serious turn for the worse. But it’s not until Magowan actually finds himself on the wrong side of the law after one of his encounters with Crandall that he finally realizes the only way he can get out from under the avalanche of trouble Crandall’s brought down on him is to figure out what really happened to the drugs all those years ago.

Often there’s concern of a letdown with the follow up when an author comes out of the gate as strongly with their debut as Mercer did with Slow Fire, but let me assure you that not only has the sophomore slump been avoided, Mercer has actually raised the stakes. While Slow Fire unfolded with a slow burn, East on Sunset’s fuse is short, the action exploding off the pages in a never-ending series of escalating confrontations between Crandall and the Magowans. I was wondering how Mercer was going to top the ice cold menace of villain Frank Carver from Slow Fire, but the fiery hot Erik Crandall is one seriously scary dude. His initially short prison term having been extended when he killed another inmate, the once skinny punk spent his prison time shooting steroids and pumping iron. Now a freakishly large human whose shaved head has two disturbingly realistic eyes tattooed on the back of it, Crandall is truly a living, breathing nightmare.

Yet despite all the action, Mercer hasn’t lost what made Slow Fire such a strong debut, the wonderful attention to character detail and development. The emotions the Magowans go through are pitch perfect as they move from indignation to anger to fear. The intra-marital tension between Will and Laurie is particularly well developed – and frustratingly real – as he tries to persuade her of what he believes is the proper course of action, while she holds firmly to her ideals and convictions in the face of the ever increasing threat level. So adept is Mercer at delving into his characters, he actually manages to bring a (small) measure of sympathy to Crandall by allowing the reader glimpses into his head at the simplistic but to him perfectly reasonable logic driving his actions. Yes, Mercer has once again delivered a taut, seamless, fabulously entertaining work of crime fiction.

If you’re looking for a smoking hot read this summer, take an East on Sunset on your way to the beach or pool. You won’t regret it.… (mais)

Former LA undercover narcotics agent Will Magowan is offered a job as police chief in a small Northern California town. A reovering addict himself, Will quickly runs afoul of Frank Carver, the town's most famous resident--an aging Hippie who spent years in jail and wrote a book about his transformation to an "upstanding citizen" when he disovers that this small, quaint town has a serious drug problem. With only a rookie officer to help him, Will must battle his own demons as well determine who could be running the state's largest meth lab somewhere in the national forest.

I had this book in my to read pile for over a month. It was actually sitting on the back seat of my car when I was desperate for something to read. Once I started it I couldn't put it down. A great crime fiction debut… (mais)

Just a few hard knocks. That’s what he’d kept telling himself, these past couple of years, but now he had to consider a more disturbing possibility. That perhaps the circumstances were not to be blamed, but only himself. – Will Magowan

Former LAPD narcotics detective Will Magowan has pretty much hit rock bottom. Having been fired because of the heroin addiction he picked up while working undercover, he’s estranged from his wife and living in a beat up Airstream trailer at the opening of author Ken Mercer’s debut novel, Slow Fire.

Still unemployed and trying to get his life together two years after his firing, Magowan’s prospects for another job in law enforcement are looking rather grim. Until, that is, he gets an offer from the Mayor of Haydenville, California to become their Chief of Police.

Located far upstate and deep inland in National Forest territory, the once idyllic town is suffocating under a growing methamphetamine problem, one so bad that the Mayor is willing to overlook Magowan’s current baggage in favor of his past expertise.

Magowan accepts the position, and in relatively short order identifies the person he believes to be the source of the meth; Frank Carver, a man who served time in the 1970’s after being convicted of the voluntary manslaughter of his wife. Unfortunately, Carver also wrote a bestselling book shortly after his release from prison which, in conjunction with his generous patronage of the town’s library, makes him ‘hands off’ as far as the Mayor is concerned.

It’s not giving anything away to mention that Magowan identifies Carver as his main suspect (it happens early on), as Slow Fire is arguably more of a character study than it is a mystery in the strictest sense. It’s Magowan’s interactions with those around him – be it mentoring his earnest and painfully naïve young deputy, trying to reconnect with his estranged wife, playing politics with the Mayor, or butting heads with Carver – that truly fuel Slow Fire.

Carver, who presents an unnerving combination of brute force and intelligence for Magowan to square off against, is one of the more disturbing antagonists you’ll find in current crime fiction. Magowan is such a wonderfully well-developed character, however, that he’s more than up to the task. Mercer has, in fact, hit a stride with Magowan right out of the gate that many authors take two or three books into a series to find. Considering that Slow Fire is Mercer’s debut, I can only image the heights he will be able to hit with Magowan as this series unfolds… and I greatly look forward to it.… (mais)