Michael J. Clark (3)

Mahoney’s Camaro was a great auction deal. Only a grand for a cherry 1967 that had only been in the river for a few hours. As with every good deal, this one had a few strings. First, Heather had been handcuffed to the steering wheel and drowned after being shoved into the drink. Now, she was haunting the car. Second, the murderer was desperate to get the car back to destroy any evidence linking him to Heather’s murder.

It’s 1985 in Canada. Mahoney works for a scuzzy towing firm but his passion is cars. After losing his mechanic job under the shadow of theft, he can’t find reputable work. He is forced to work in an ethically questionable tow yard driving a tow truck during the midnight shift. Despite his bosses entreaties, he doesn’t deal drugs, pimp woman, or steal cars.

Mahoney looks into Heather’s death just to get her out of his ride. What he finds is the 1980s drug of choice, Crack, and a widespread criminal enterprise.

As a car fan, the descriptions of cherry rides and engine parts was a fun throwback to my youth of car clubs and cruise nights. I’m not sure everyone will be as entranced by pages of description of how to move the shell of one car onto another. The mystery was told from both the criminals and the detective Mahoney’s point of view—like Columbo the killer is known from the beginning—so this is not a good choice for armchair detectives. But if you like muscle cars, this is the perfect crime thriller. For everyone else, 3 stars.

Thanks to the author, ECW Press, and LibraryThing for a copy in exchange for my honest review.… (more)

Mahoney’s Camaro starts off as fiction noir, Winnipeg style. Clark’s story is a freakishly accurate rendering of the ‘Peg’s seamier side, circa 1985. But before the story gets too dark and hard boiled, it takes a sharp left turn and skids into a somewhat goofy but still very enjoyable crime tale. The underdog hero has the girl, gets the car, and solves the crime, all with the help of his pals and a few “other worldly” characters. Clark’s obviously extensive knowledge of all things cars is used to good effect and should entice any car aficionados who also enjoy a good crime story with their morning tune-ups.… (more)