A Scintillating Read…
Having just finished reading Death’s Way by author, Christopher Valen, I can immediately state that I was not disappointed. Death’s Way was a fast-paced, well-written book, but of course I didn’t really find that surprising. I had previously read Valen’s prior release: Bone Shadows, therefore I was quite familiar with his writing skills and the various twists and turns that Valen always works seamlessly, and expertly, into the storyline.
In Death’s Way we, the reader, continue on with another John Santana novel. For those who are unfamiliar with this series, Santana is a homicide detective on the St. Paul Minnesota Police Department payroll. While Santana does come with his own personal baggage – he is a man of integrity whose main goal in life (other than survival) is to see that justice is done. He seems rather ‘old school’ and ‘out of place’ in a world of values that don’t match his own, yet that is what sets him apart from the rest.
In Death’s Way we, the reader, start our journey in the wee hours of the morning. We discover ourselves in an escort’s hotel room – the scene of an apparent accidental death by autoerotic asphyxiation. All the evidence points to an accident, but for some unknown reason Santana is not convinced. And even though the coroner has also labeled this death ‘accidental,’ Santana feels obligated to treat it as a homicide. He has nothing more than his gut instinct to rely on; however, Santana has learned long ago that his instinct usually grasps more than his eyes.
I don’t want to provide any more of the story, but I will confirm that this is yet another ‘must read.’ In summary, Valen is a master of words, of plots and subplots, and subplots within additional subplots. In Death’s Way, Christopher Valen has once again crafted a spellbinding tale of mystery, murder, intrigue and the unexplained. His readers, both old and new, will not be disappointed.