Trigger by David Swinson
Genre: Cop/Private Investigator crime
Publisher: Mulholland
Publication Date: 2019
Summary
Ex-cop Frank Marr works as a private investigator for a defense attorney, who happens to be his ex-girlfriend Leslie. He’s trying to kick the cocaine and alcohol addictions that led to his forced early retirement. Then his old police partner, Al Luna, is accused of shooting an unarmed civilian. Al insists that the victim had a gun. Though the police investigators haven’t found a gun (or witnesses, or video footage), Frank believes his friend.
Frank’s ex-girlfriend, Leslie, is Al’s defense attorney, and she reluctantly enlists his help with the investigation. Things don’t look good. But Frank’s determined to find something to clear Al’s name. Then he runs into a young man, Calvin (a.k.a., Playboy), who is a former drug dealer now trying to go straight. Because of his insider knowledge of the drug dealers in the area, Calvin is an ideal person to help with Frank’s investigation . . . if you overlook that Frank almost killed him a while ago. Calvin hasn’t. With reluctance, both Frank and Calvin work together to investigate what really happened during this shooting.
This book is 3rd in the Frank Marr series, but it works as a standalone. I had no problem figuring out the relationships and background of the major characters.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed this book until about a third of the way through. Then I hit a I’m-burned-out-on-reading-crime/suspense/anything-with-words phase, and it took an unpardonably long amount of time to finish the last 200 pages. (In case you’re wondering, I had to take a weekend off and watch a bunch of Marvel movies to kick-start my reading adrenaline again. I’m still not back to normal, even after watching all the Captain America movies, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Endgame–twice.)
That’s not Swinson’s fault, obviously. The book is excellent. Here are a few things that I liked:
The relationship between the former police partners seems realistic.
Swinson builds up why Frank believes Al, even in the face of contrary evidence. No gun has been found. No witnesses, no video footage, nothing, yet Frank believes Al’s account of the shooting. They’re close friends, but more importantly, they were work partners for years: they know each other in ways that others might not understand. Al was also Frank’s mentor, and Frank feels that he “owes” the other man.
This doesn’t mean that Frank is blind to Al’s shortcomings. When he uncovers some “compromising” photos (not involving the shooting but his relationship with their former street informant), Frank gives Al the riot act. Al’s relationship with Tamie Darling is unethical, but it compromises all the investigations where Darling was an informant. Frank’s confrontation with Al is fierce and honest.
The understated prose works well for the story being told.
Swinson doesn’t give us lush descriptions of anyone or thing in the novel. This isn’t a book that relies on appearances–which can be deceitful–but on action and dialogue. This is bare-bones prose that suits the narrator’s voice.
Swinson does a great job handling Frank’s addiction issues.
Frank has finally kicked a cocaine habit, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still crave it. I’ve never taken recreational drugs, but Swinson made me feel how desperate Frank is. He’s desperate to kick the addiction, to pass the test of being near it without consuming it, but sometimes, circumstances trigger him, and he’s desperate for his drug fix.
When the novel opens, Frank is breaking into a house and stealing cocaine. (This is the 1st chapter, so it shouldn’t be considered a spoiler.) Then, when he successfully resists the temptation to use the cocaine, he says,
“Damn, that’s hard, but I passed the test. Again. How many more tests before I don’t have to worry about failing?” (page 6)
From what I know about addiction, this feels real. Always being tested, always scared of failing, always wondering how long before failure isn’t the default option.
Overall, this is a great novel. There’s lots of f-bombing, though, so if that’s an issue, you should probably skip it. To me, it felt realistic for the setting.
Bonus tips for writers from Trigger
Understated prose can work as effectively as long descriptions
I particularly appreciated how Swinson handles this regarding women’s appearances. Over the years, I’ve read many male cop/investigator type novels where the male narrator has to describe a female character’s appearance in a little too much detail. (Especially if he’s attracted to her.) Frank doesn’t do this. When we first meet Leslie, his ex-girlfriend, Swinson writes,
Leslie steps out (of a cab), carrying an expensive-looking teal-colored briefcase and sporting a gray three-button overcoat. Damn, she looks nice. (page 13)
Her briefcase and an overcoat. That’s it. Not exactly symbols of sexuality! Swinson doesn’t focus on her face or body, so Frank doesn’t come across as lustful. But this one-sentence description still conveys that Leslie is an attractive woman in professional attire, and that though they’ve been broken up for a while, Frank is still attracted to her.
Foreshadow the ending, but don’t be obvious.
As always, I read the ending first. (Sorry, authors, but you can’t control how I read your book!) I knew what “really” happened, and I saw Swinson foreshadow this revelation throughout the novel in subtle ways. Key word: subtle.
Swinson works in this foreshadowing through ordinary-seeming exchanges between characters. They seem ordinary because they are; in this novel’s world, these types of conversations/actions are accepted and normal. The unsuspecting reader breezes right by them, accepting them without thought.
It’s only in retrospect that these jolt us with the knowledge that we should have, could have, realized all along. This isn’t easy to do, but Swinson does it well. It’s worth reading the book just to see how he did it.
This review of Trigger also appears on Goodreads, Bookbub, and Amazon.