Turnabout
by Jeremiah Healy
Leisure Books, 2005
Turnabout—which was originally
published by Five Star in 2001—is an appealing, slow-paced, and surprising
crime novel by the author of the John Francis Cuddy mystery series. Matthew
Langway, a former FBI agent turned Boston private detective, is in a bind. His
partner has been siphoning money out of their partnership and, worse, he has
been stealing from their clients. So, with a desperate need for cash, Langway
reluctantly agrees to investigate the kidnapping of the mentally-handicapped Kenny,
the great-grandson of a wealthy former U.S. Army general, Alexander Van Horne. Langway’s
reluctance comes from Van Horne’s insistent that the authorities be kept out, but
the promise of a $10,000 payday convinces Langway to take the job anyway.
The
estate’s security is top-notch—cameras, guards, alarms, fences, and gates—which
leads Langway to think the kidnappers had inside help. A notion supported by the
rapacious Van Horne family; every one of them residents of the estate where
Kenny lived and with something to gain from the boy’s death.
Turnabout is
fascinating and literate, but its unhurried pacing and dark nature may put some readers off. The thematic focus on the
past, particularly old secrets, is reminiscent, while not quite as satisfying, as
Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer books. A similarity that kept me turning the pages
until the narrative picked up about a third of the way in. Along the way it
becomes clear nothing in Langway’s world is simple and obvious. Everything is
suspect. Then the climactic scene—with the surprise of a swinging axe—twists into
a marvelous, almost breathtaking, surprise.
Turnabout is
set in the late-1980s and—keep in mind this is all speculation on my part—it
was likely written about that same time. Healy (perhaps) was unable to find a
publisher, or he simply put the manuscript away and went on to other projects. But
then Five Star—known for publishing “trunk novels” by established mystery
writers for the library market in the early-2000s—brought Turnabout out
in 2001 and a few years later Leisure Books issued a mass market reprint. But
no matter Turnabout’s history, I’m glad it had a public life because the
characters, the story, and the complex ideas about morality and ethics, or the
lack of any, keep dancing long after the final pages are done.
Click here for the paperback at Amazon.
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