This is the first of the John Ceepak mysteries
John Ceepak is a former MP and Iraq war veteran who has recently joined the Sea Haven, New Jersey police force. John is a cop 24/7 and lives by The Code, "I will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do." His partner Danny Boyle is one of the part-timers hired by the SHPD to help deal with the summer tourists that create an annual population explosion in the community. Danny took the job mainly to impress college girls and he freely admits that he doesn't have a Code. In fact, his outlook is so far removed from John's that Danny doesn't recognize that The Code is the West Point cadet honor code and has nothing to do with the Boy Scouts. The only thing the two men have in common is a love of Bruce Springsteen which allows them to bridge communication gaps by referencing song lyrics. The routine of their lopsided partnership is disrupted when a wealthy local real estate developer is murdered in front of his teenage daughter. During the course of the investigation Danny is forced to reassess his view of police work, and of his partner.
This series is referred to as the John Ceepak mysteries, but the focus is really more on Danny. The books are told in first person from his point of view and, while information is revealed about John, Danny is the character who actually changes over the course of the story. From the very first page Danny's sarcastic, but affectionate observations about Sea Haven tell the reader a great deal about him. He has a strong, and very particular narrative voice. I enjoyed it, but people who have a low tolerance for snark probably won't. The mystery itself has interesting aspects, but the gist of the plot isn't particularly difficult to figure out. Still, the characters, setting and writing style were more than interesting enough to carry the book.
Grade: B+
Will I read the next book in the series? Yes. I'm definitely interested in finding out more about both John and Danny and seeing how their relationship evolves.
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