Michael Wiley

Freed after spending eight years on death row for a crime he did not commit, Franky Dast now works as an investigator for the Justice Now Initiative. But he’s not able to move past the events that cost him eight years of his life and isn’t certain he should help the detective who testified against him all those years ago and who now faces a murder charge himself.

Investigating for Justice Now, Franky learns more about the murder charge against Detective Higby; Franky hates the man and show more wants him to be guilty of the crime. But as he learns more about the circumstances and about the people involved, he realizes there is much more to the case than he’d first thought.

Despite his release from prison, many people still believe Franky is guilty of the murders that wrongfully incarcerated him and he realizes he must prove himself innocent of that crime before he can make headway in the Higby investigation. Can Franky learn what really happened that night on Monument Road?

This gritty narrative explores the psychological state of those released from prison after several years in an unforgiving prison system and offers readers a starkly realistic view through Franky’s interactions with others. By turns, Franky will make readers sad, hopeful, angry, and scared as he makes choices that seem self-destructive and yet are part of his learning how to be free after spending so many years as an innocent man on death row.

The characters are well-developed and believable; unexpected twists and turns keep readers guessing until the final reveal. The narrative itself is grim, dark, stifling, and brutally raw. Sometimes it is difficult to read. But its honesty is both compelling and mesmerizing. Put this one on your must-read list.

Highly recommended. show less

Trouble in Mind: A Sam Kelson Mystery is a modern noir mystery thriller featuring a damaged protagonist—brain damaged, that is—by a bullet to the head while undercover as a narcotics cop. Sam is left with a permanent inability to stop himself from saying and doing whatever crosses his mind, thus ending his career and his marriage. Retired from the police, Sam goes to work as a PI and quickly gets in over his head on a case that may be connected to the shooting that left him with a show more damaged brain and a damaged life.

Fictional detectives with disabilities are nothing new—think obsessive-compulsive Monk, wheelchair bound Ironsides, PTSD-afflicted Dex Parios, blind Sir John Fielding, agoraphobic Nero Wolfe, or the many alcoholic and drug addicted walking wounded. Even the great Sherlock Holmes is often portrayed (at least in derivative works) with autism spectrum characteristics. In this crowded field, Sam Kelson’s diagnose of disinhibition feels like an effort to find a new twist to differentiate the main character from the herd and a plot devise to jump-start the story.

Once jump-started, the story is very competently developed and presented. The focus of the action-packed plot shifts and twists. Connections are suggested but not all may be real or mean what we may think they do at first. I guessed the identify of the main villain before it was revealed—but not so far before that it spoiled the story.

The author includes the standard noir elements—a mysterious femme fatale, lots of gun violence and dead bodies, gangsters, and a clever villain. These traditional noir elements are lightened by the refreshing appearances of Sam’s young daughter and her kittens and by Sam’s loyal sidekick. I wish the ex-wife was not presented as such a stereotypical bitch. This did nothing to advance the story and seemed to be just an effort to increase the readers’ sympathy for Sam—an effort that was not needed.

I listened to the audio book edition. The narration is easy to listen to and enhanced the story. The voices of each character are differentiated without the narration becoming overly theatrical.

I rate this audio book with 3 ½ stars (out of 5)—a solid read. show less

4.5 stars.

Monument Road by Michael Wiley is a riveting mystery which features a former death row inmate who is struggling to reintegrate to society while at the same time working as a investigator for the nonprofit that helped overturn his conviction.

After stopping to help brothers Duane and Steven Bronson late one night, Franky Dast is eventually arrested, convicted and sent to death row for their horrific murders. Eight years later, after his tireless work on his appeals and aided by the show more Justice Now Iniative, his conviction has been overturned and Franky has been released from prison. Franky might be no longer incarcerated, but many people, including his brother Jared and Bill Higby, the detective who arrested him, have no doubt that he killed the teenagers. After Bill is arrested for shooting and killing Joshua Skooner, his neighbor and son of prominent judge Eric Skooner, Franky is gleeful about his nemesis's plight. However, he quickly comes to the conclusion that Bill might be innocent and Franky's subsequent investigation unexpectedly leads back to the Bronson brothers' murders.

Franky might no longer be physically in prison, but he is not exactly free from the effects of his incarceration. He vacillates between the highest of highs and the lowest of lows as he tries to adjust to his new life. Despite his adjustment issues, he jumps headlong into working for the Justice Now Iniative where he goes to extreme lengths to help exonerate prisoners who have been wrongly convicted. Franky is highly intelligent and relentless in his pursuit of the truth but his impulsivity and volatility do not always result in the best decisions. He refuses to take no for an answer in his zeal to find answers and Franky frequently skirts the boundaries of respectable behavior when confronted with recalcitrant witnesses.

Monument Road is a well-executed mystery that takes a stunning turn when Franky uncovers evidence that hints at shocking corruption and wrongdoing at the highest level in the justice system. Franky is a complex character who is surprisingly sympathetic despite his erratic behavior and ill-thought out decisions. The plot is engaging and Michael Wiley brings the novel to an action packed conclusion. This first installment in the Franky Dast Mystery series is sure to be a hit with fans of the genre. show less

This review is for the audio book of Trouble in Mind as provided by LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

A whole lot of suspension of disbelief is required to accept that a man with brain damage, which makes him unable to lie, has made an appropriate career choice as a private detective. It takes more to understand why he's so obsessed with the question of whether he fired first at the drug dealer who put a bullet in his head. That's not all of the logical obstacles that the listener has to show more overcome in this novel, which is studded with characters that are consistently extraordinary. As in, “I've never met anyone like that.”

All that being said, there is amusement here, with our hero blurting out the obviously wrong things time after time. And it's entertainment, after all, not “true crime,” but the biggest flaw in the novel is that there's not much mystery in it. I knew the crime kingpin halfway through, and it becomes a thriller chase book soon thereafter.

Well performed by Paul Woodson, it's amusing enough for company on your commute, but not something you'll long remember. show less