Matt Jones
has just been promoted to homicide detective in the LAPD and is planning to
meet his mentor and long time friend, Kevin Hughes for dinner to
celebrate. Hughes, a detective in North
Hollywood served with Jones in Afghanistan and encouraged him to move to LA and
become a cop after his military discharge.
But before Hughes arrives at the restaurant, Jones receives a call from
Lt. Bob Grace, his new supervisor. Grace
assigns him to a homicide only a block from the restaurant. Jones texts Hughes that the dinner is
postponed and heads to the murder scene.
The victim was shot several times in the face and is unidentifiable but
Jones hears a cell phone chirp and finds his own message received on the victim’s
phone. The victim is his friend, Kevin
Hughes.
Jones is shaken
but nothing about this seems right to him.
A camera overlooking the parking lot where Hughes is killed shows a
hooded robber shooting the detective execution style, not necessary if robbery
is the motive. Jones’ new partner is
uncooperative and seems too close to his boss, Lt. Grace. Hughes partner, Frankie Lane has his own
theories about the killer but won’t share them with Jones without further
proof. Hughes’ wife, Laura seems
devastated by her husband’s brutal death but soon lures Jones into a physical relationship. Jones appears underqualified to solve this murder
but no one is more determined to find the truth.
City of Echoes pales in comparison to Robert Ellis’
usual performance. It falls into the
category of an airplane book at best. It’s
entertaining but comes up short on plausibility. Assigning a detective to solve his best
friend’s murder would never happen, regardless of manpower issues. Once plausibility comes into question, so
many other events just don’t smell right... implausibility spreads like B.O.
from an overworked taxi driver… your mind can’t focus elsewhere until the ride
is over.
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