Book Review - Shoofly Pie by Tim Downs
Category Book Reviews
Based on the recommendation of another Amazon reviewer, I picked up a copy of Shoofly Pie - A Bug Man Novel by Tim Downs at the library. And I think I've found another "must read" author...
Dr. Nick Polchak is a forensic entomologist... basically a guy who studies the effects of insects on dead bodies. Real appealing stuff. And due to some prior hardships in his life (that aren't covered in this, the first installment of what should be a series), he's pretty much done with dealing with people and prefers to stick with his bugs. After getting caught "helping" the police one too many times, his college exiles him to a remote area of North Carolina to do some research. While there, a person turns up dead in a field and is ruled to be a suicide. A long-time friend of the dead guy isn't convinced, and she hires Polchak to uncover the truth at whatever the cost may be. Using his skills, he determines that the body had to have been moved to where it was found, and the bugs present in the wounds indicate that the death occurred somewhere else. Now all he has to do is narrow down who is the murder while not getting himself killed in the process...
There are quite a few things to like about this book. Polchak is a hard-nosed "bug man" who has no problems saying or doing anything to find out what he needs to know. He's also detached himself from a number of human emotions so that he can observe reality instead of what others think must be there. The writing and dialogue is interesting, and the story moves at a comfortable pace. The other unusual thing about this book is that it's put out by a Christian book publisher. While most Christian fiction tends to weave in a strong moralistic message, there's really none of that here. The language is clean, and its the type of book that would get a PG-13 rating in a theatre if this were made into a movie. It's a refreshing change from novels that feel the need to use every four letter word in the book just to appear "real".
Downs has done an outstanding job in this his first Bug Man novel. I can't wait to get ahold of the next one in the series.
Based on the recommendation of another Amazon reviewer, I picked up a copy of Shoofly Pie - A Bug Man Novel by Tim Downs at the library. And I think I've found another "must read" author...
Dr. Nick Polchak is a forensic entomologist... basically a guy who studies the effects of insects on dead bodies. Real appealing stuff. And due to some prior hardships in his life (that aren't covered in this, the first installment of what should be a series), he's pretty much done with dealing with people and prefers to stick with his bugs. After getting caught "helping" the police one too many times, his college exiles him to a remote area of North Carolina to do some research. While there, a person turns up dead in a field and is ruled to be a suicide. A long-time friend of the dead guy isn't convinced, and she hires Polchak to uncover the truth at whatever the cost may be. Using his skills, he determines that the body had to have been moved to where it was found, and the bugs present in the wounds indicate that the death occurred somewhere else. Now all he has to do is narrow down who is the murder while not getting himself killed in the process...
There are quite a few things to like about this book. Polchak is a hard-nosed "bug man" who has no problems saying or doing anything to find out what he needs to know. He's also detached himself from a number of human emotions so that he can observe reality instead of what others think must be there. The writing and dialogue is interesting, and the story moves at a comfortable pace. The other unusual thing about this book is that it's put out by a Christian book publisher. While most Christian fiction tends to weave in a strong moralistic message, there's really none of that here. The language is clean, and its the type of book that would get a PG-13 rating in a theatre if this were made into a movie. It's a refreshing change from novels that feel the need to use every four letter word in the book just to appear "real".
Downs has done an outstanding job in this his first Bug Man novel. I can't wait to get ahold of the next one in the series.
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