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caitlinxmartin's review
4.0
A wonderfully gripping and well-written police procedural, as much a hero's journey as a mystery its writing held me in the grip of its story. Detective Ezra Simeon has always been driven in his work - so much so that he has begun suffering from Bell's Palsy and is living with a partially paralyzed face. In a holding pattern waiting for retirement, Simeon is called by an old friend to take over a high profile case from their mutual friend who has been murdered. The course of the case, the discovery of the mystery, and the reclamation of a great detective makes for a super read.
jcbmathcat's review
5.0
I do not know how I learned of the existence of this book, but I am glad I found it!
There are many crime novels out there that are great reads. There is something about A Detailed Man that, to me, placed it above most of the others I have read to date.
It takes place in the DC area, so that is appealing to me. The main detective is Ezra Simeon. When we meet him, we learn that his face is compromised on one side due to Bell's Palsy. He has to wear a patch over one eye to sleep, as it won't close. He drinks from a straw, and still has difficulty keeping food and drink from dribbling down into his beard. While he heals, he has been sent from robbery to cold case.
He finds positive reasons to stay in cold case until he can retire, and he has a good success rate, as he did in robbery. He finds one case that follows him when he is suddenly transferred again after the death of a friend in homicide. He inherits a high profile case of a murdered escort and realizes there are commonalities between that case and the cold case he was working on.
Swinson does a fantastic job of making a reader feel as if this is actually what police work is about. It is not glamorous, cases are not cracked within the time frame of a made-for-TV movie, and the characters are fleshed out.
I was surprised to learn that A Detailed Man is Swinson's first novel.
It definitely rates five stars in my book list!
There are many crime novels out there that are great reads. There is something about A Detailed Man that, to me, placed it above most of the others I have read to date.
It takes place in the DC area, so that is appealing to me. The main detective is Ezra Simeon. When we meet him, we learn that his face is compromised on one side due to Bell's Palsy. He has to wear a patch over one eye to sleep, as it won't close. He drinks from a straw, and still has difficulty keeping food and drink from dribbling down into his beard. While he heals, he has been sent from robbery to cold case.
He finds positive reasons to stay in cold case until he can retire, and he has a good success rate, as he did in robbery. He finds one case that follows him when he is suddenly transferred again after the death of a friend in homicide. He inherits a high profile case of a murdered escort and realizes there are commonalities between that case and the cold case he was working on.
Swinson does a fantastic job of making a reader feel as if this is actually what police work is about. It is not glamorous, cases are not cracked within the time frame of a made-for-TV movie, and the characters are fleshed out.
I was surprised to learn that A Detailed Man is Swinson's first novel.
It definitely rates five stars in my book list!
sgtbigg's review
4.0
A well-written mystery/police procedural/crime book featuring DC Police Detective Ezra Simeon. Simeon was recently detailed to the Homicide Cold Case squad to give him a break and hopefully to give him the chance to recover from a persistent case of Bell's Palsy. Simeon's break doesn't last long and he's soon on the homicide squad handling a well publicized case. Written with a dry humor and an intimate knowledge of the DC Police, Swinson has written a good first book that is impossible to pigeon hole into a particular genre. I look forward to his next book.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to work with Swinson, who was an outstanding detective.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to work with Swinson, who was an outstanding detective.
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