T. Jefferson Parker is a superb stylist within a certain category of crime fiction writers – too lyrical to be noir, too place-oriented to fit into the lean Connelly oeuvre, yet pared down compared to the Rankins of the world. To a reader of many, many mysteries, Parker surprises with his prose on every page, in a way that’s very tough to describe. So I always look forward to his books and prefer to buy them hardcopy from America to read them as soon as possible.
Parker’s previous outing, L.A. Outlaws, was a treat to read but found the author unusually sentimental. The best aspect of that book was a secondary character, a young Los Angeles cop with a strong sense of ethics and yearning in his heart. Other Parker fans must have signalled likewise, for Charlie Hood, now on driving patrol in the Californian desert, is the centrepiece of The Renegades.
At the start of The Renegades, Charlie Hood’s partner is machine gunned to death in front of him, and when he investigates, anomalies appear. By the middle of the book, Hood finds himself enmeshed in a puzzling mystery and engaged in a classic good versus evil battle. T. Jefferson Parker choreographs the plot to absolute perfection, his writing is magnificent, and the ending is a corker. Parker’s best novel since the incomparable Silent Joe should entrance any fan of crime fiction.