R.E. Donald

I received a (free) e-book copy of Slow Curve on the Coquihalla from the author in exchange for an honest review, and only the sense of obligation created by that transaction kept me reading. Absent that, I’d have stopped after 100 pages or so.

The book, and the series of which it’s the first installment, have a great deal going for them. The setting (Western Canada) is an appealing blend of the familiar and the exotic, the hero (a retired RCMP trooper turned long-haul truck driver) is a show more congenial guy, and the plot offers multiple suspects with plausible motives for murder. The author seems (at least to an outsider like me) to know his way around the trucking industry, and yet never resorts to info dumps or “as you know, Bob” speeches designed to explain things to the reader. All of the elements for a solid first mystery story are there . . . but they never gel.

The problem, in a word, is pacing. Scene after scene begins too soon and lasts too long, slowing the plot with descriptions of comings, goings, and preliminary small talk. Pages upon pages are expended on main character Hunter Rayne’s awkward attempts to re-connect with his college-age daughters, and on other characters interactions with their spouses, lovers, and children. Scenes that actually do advance the plot are spaced so far apart that Rayne’s investigation never develops a feeling of momentum. Nor, oddly, does the story convey much of a feel of what it’s like to drive a truck for a living . . . to live on much of every month on the road . . . or to be alone with your thoughts for hours on end amid the vast spaces of Western Canada. There is, as a result, little incentive to wade through to the next break in the case.

Lots of successful, long-running mystery series start slowly. Neither Robert B. Parker’s Spenser nor Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone hit their stride, for me, until the third books of their respective series. With Parker, though, the snappy dialogue and the familiar Boston settings kept me readong; with Grafton, it was the promise she displayed in the brilliant first paragraph of A is for Alibi. Perseverance might pay off with R. E. Donald, too, but right now I’m not finding a reason to revisit Hunter Rayne and his world. show less

"Slow Curve on the Coquihalla" by R. E. Donald is a 1st-rate Mystery and Detective novel. Hunter Rayne is a long-haul trucker and a retired RCMP officer. It's hard not to like Hunter who has a down-home full-bodied appeal. In fact, all the characters in the story are well-drawn, craftily detailed and plausible. The scenes are realistic. The plot is methodical without any cheap twists. The author foreshadows well and gives readers enough hints to nail the perp(s). But very few readers will show more guess the killer, because the author presents a whole forest of likely suspects and intriguing distractions.

The author knows the trucking business inside and out. The dialogues, interactions and backgrounds are authentic. The scenery slides across your windshield in a panoramic vista. I could almost hear the hiss of tires on pavement.

Dan Sorenson "Sorry" is a jaded rounder and ex-biker. He becomes Hunter's unlikely sidekick. Sorry could be modern fiction's answer to the legendary Fallstaff character.

This novel is a must-read for anyone who enjoys realistic characters and richly detailed scenes. show less

Hunter Rayne Highway Mystery book #3

Former homicide detective hunter Rayne finds himself the prime suspect in the RCMP’s hunt for “The Chairlift Killer” what a way to spoil his weekend at Whistler and putting a lid on a potential romance. He has no choice but to get involved in order to clear his name.

The believable and interesting plot aids the story to move along well enough to hold attention till the last page. Of course this is a relaxed and cozy read with some rough patches. After show more all, the entire story is about a murder investigation leaving Hunter relationship on hold. It is easy to get irritated with him and how he interacts with the opposite sex at times but what woman does not love a tall silent type persona, he surely fits the profile. There were odd bits of dialogue and some funny moments to make us smile but not much is really exciting or even captivating.

Although this is a well-written book with pretty good characters “Sea to Sky” brings nothing new to the genre. Hunter now a truck driver will always be a RCMP at heart and “will uphold the right and always get his man” (official motto of the RCMP)

Enjoyable story that works well as a stand-alone. show less

I got impatient with this mystery towards the end. I like the author's attention to the background, in this case, trucking, LA jail and bar life in small town British Columbia, but I did wish she would hurry up. Only at the end did I realize that one reason for the detail was to distract me from the solution, which was obvious if one thought about the solution instead of the characters and setting.