T. Jefferson Parker 14: Storm Runners

I really like T. Jefferson Parker. He's a damn good writer who keeps getting better and better. But his novels are starting to bug me. The last book of his that I reviewed, The Fallen, featured a cop who survived a fall from a tall building. I noted that this reminded me of a previous book about a sympathetic character, Silent Joe, which featured a cop who was disfigured. So what happens in Storm Runners? Parker comes right back with a cop turned private investigator who survived a bomb blast and lost an eye and finger, among other injuries. Parker pet peeve aside, this is another really good book. In the first sentence, Parker establishes that a high school friend killed lead character Matt Stromsoe's wife and young child. From there, the tale unfolds and you can probably figure out the direction in which things are headed. In keeping with the title, one of the interesting topics in the book is meteorology, as Stromsoe's romantic interest is a TV weather forecaster whose hobby and life's work is cloud seeding or making it rain, as Pacman Jones would say. (While reading about the rainmaking, I couldn't help but remember a book I read as a kid, The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club, which was written in the late 1960's and was well before its time. In that book, a bunch of teenagers used rockets filled with chemicals to make it rain in their town, which was having a drought. In Storm Runners, a similar fate happens once the characters mess with Mother Nature.) Another interesting topic in the book is the Mexican Mafia and ways they are able to communicate with their leader, who is serving time in prison. (Harvard won't be too happy that the vicious leader of La Eme is a graduate of their school.) Even though there are more similarities and less originality than I prefer in a book, I enjoyed Storm Runners. With that said, I hope Parker returns to a more normal lead character in his next novel.

T. Jefferson Parker 13: The Fallen

I have to admit, I picked up a T. Jefferson Parker novel years ago since it was right next to veteran author Robert Parker's large section of books. His early books were decent, but in the last four or five, he's really hit his stride and I can't walk by his books without picking up the latest. (Ironically, since then, I haven't bought a Robert Parker novel, although I really enjoy his work, as well.) Four books ago, in the novel Silent Joe, the main character was a cop who was disfigured in a childhood accident. When I read the prologue and the first chapter of The Fallen, whose main character is a cop who survived a six-story fall, I was ready to rip on Parker for using the same sympathetic character modus operandi once again. However, the more I read, the more I really got into this novel. And how the accident has affected the life and job of the main character, Robbie Brownlaw. Similar to Silent Joe, Parker weaves a great murder mystery. And one that also includes a look into local politics -- fictitious, of course, but likely with a huge semblance of truth. Parker has written three books with female lead Merci Rayborn. Brownlaw is much more compelling -- and human -- in my opinion, and here's hoping Parker keeps his m.o. and brings back Brownlaw for a future novel. (Read more about The Fallen on Amazon)