Mifflin County, Ohio is basically a fueling stop on the I-71 between Columbus and Cleveland (A fictitious county, but most all the stops between Columbus and Cleveland are just that. I used to live in Ohio so I can say that with some impunity). It’s where former NYPD detective Ed Runyon finally landed after a particularly heinous missing persons case sent him over the edge.
Running from city issues, he’s now a detective for the Mifflin County Sheriffs Office. Lives in a trailer off a road that is off a road. Near a creek. Plays his guitar. Battles depression and his own guilt about not having done enough to save a teenage girl from a gruesome death. Still drinks too much. Resists an 80yo resident’s invitations to church. Provides overwatch for the regional SWAT team. A local high school English teacher is his current friend with benefits. Decent co-workers. Occasional work-related outbursts. But so far, he prefers cases of a missing tractor to sliced and diced victims nailed in effigy to a wall covered with bloody graffiti.
A big party in Columbus drew kids from all around central Ohio. A girl has gone missing. All the local cops have to go on is that she left with some guy(s?) in a truck not from Franklin County (Columbus). The search is focused on stops along I-71 north. Columbus is sending cops and detectives asking for local help. The Sheriff assigns Runyon to help Columbus Detective Michelle Beckworth.
There is the usual give and take about who is in charge. Who is the good cop and who is the bad cop. Basic cop banter. It’s a crap shoot that the missing girl arrived in the county, but they still have to look and start in with the local high school and ne’er do wells in the county like a punk band, football heros, survialists, and so forth.
When Runyon gets a scent, he narrows his laser focus on a suspect. Problem is his interview techniques tend to be a little coarse and Beckworth is continually reigning him in. Problem is that he zeros in on a suspect, he sees only two things. That girl in NY he failed to save (because his case load was so heavy) and how this case parallels that case, and he ain’t gonna let that happen again.
But it does. A drunk lady pointing a handgun in his face. Said missing tractor. domestic calls. A day of SWAT duty. Every minute he’s on something else is one minute lost to find the missing girl. And it’s wearing on him to the point of making bad decisions particularly when facing an AR-15.
Goble isn’t a rookie, but he’s not grocery store book rack worthy yet. Has maybe a half dozen titles to his credit. This book is presented as the first in an Ed Runyon series and I think it’ll be a fruitful venture. Runyon is a seriously flawed cop from his days in NYC. He battles his depression, the bottle, his temper and more with the help of his latter-day hippie girlfriend who gladly accepts a Svengali role to help keep Ed’s feet on the ground. Not to mention this is an Oceanview Publishing book and so far I’ve met with good success with Oceanview books.
Serious readers tend to be on the prowl for new authors. Give Steve Goble a go. Glad I did.
Available July 2021.
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