The Fairfax Incident

The Fairfax Incident is my fourth novel by Terrence McCauley, so you know I’m a fan, but this one was a departure from his prior work. It’s a historical murder mystery that takes place in 1933 New York City. Charlie Doherty was a disgraced detective who had previously been a bag guy for the very corrupt Chief of Police Andrew Carmichael. But, Doherty was rescued by Mr. Harriman Van Dorn, a wealthy and well-connected-to-Washington guy. Van Dorn created a life for Doherty in a fancy NYC pad, and he was asked to purse an investigation of the apparent suicide of Walter Fairfax at the behest of Fairfax’s wife who know her husband would never have killed himself. She said, “Not that he wasn’t a coward, mind you, but Walter Fairfax was most certainly a cowardly man. He simply wasn’t considerate enough to kill himself. For had he been a considerate man, he would have done us the favor of ending his won life long ago, freeing the children and me from decades of mediocrity and mendacity.” What a great line, and it’s typical of McCauley’s writing.

The story takes the reader through a tour of depression-era New York, the mafia influences that gripped the city, as well as the corrupt police department. This is an excellent and well-told murder mystery and the historical angle is spell-binding. The plot development was great and I did not see the final twist coming until the very end. McCauley’s character development was perfect. Good stuff – it gets my enthusiastic recommendation.