The Rocksburg Railroad Murders is the first of fifteen books in the Mario Balzic series. The strengths of the book are the characterisation, dialogue and social scenes, the sense of place, and the all show and no tell style. Constantine very good at creating clearly defined characters who are alive on the page and the social interactions between them are first rate, the dialogue spot on. Indeed, the dialogue is what makes the book sparkle, with lively exchanges through authentic voices. Constantine makes sure to thoroughly intertwine the social and work, providing a rounded view of Balzic’s world as a family man and local cop in a small community where he knows just about everyone. And the story is full of insight into local law and order politics, the intricacies of the relationships between local, state and federal cops and the legal system, and has some interesting political swipes at U.S. law enforcement (at one point Balzic makes a well argued case against police officers being armed, for example). Sometimes the plot perhaps focuses a little too much on Balzic and not on the mystery. In fact, there’s not much mystery to the story and the plot relies on a couple of awkward plot devices, especially toward the end in order to create a dramatic conclusion. But somehow that doesn’t really matter. The star of the show is Balzic and it was a pleasure to spend time in his company.
5 comments:
I read all of the Balzic books back when they came out. It was a fascinating series with a cast of local characters about whom my opinions changed over the course of the years as we learned more about them. Balzic was more than the cipher many detectives were in the hands of lesser writers and the author's views on social issues was a big part of the entertainment value in these books, partly because my own views differed from his in several areas and he may even have altered my opinions in some areas.
Loved that series.
I'm with Patti. I loved this series, too. But, somehow, after a dozen books or so, I stopped reading it. Now, I'm hunting down the titles I missed and I want to reread the entire series from start to finish.
I'll definitely be reading another. It would be good to read in order, but it'll depend on what I can get my hands on.
Constantine is one of my favorite mystery writers. This is a series that should be read in order if possible. Toward the end of the series Balzic retires and becomes a supporting character. The books are still good but, to me, not as interesting as the earlier ones. The only book in the series that I didn't think was particularly good was Bottom Liner Blues but I suspect many of the people who participate in FFB would like it more than I did; a large part of the book deals with authors being inadequately compensated.
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