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Book Review of The Bomb Shelter (David Mapstone Mysteries)

The Bomb Shelter (David Mapstone Mysteries)
cathyskye avatar reviewed on + 2271 more book reviews


I always learn something fascinating about Phoenix's history when I read one of Jon Talton's David Mapstone mysteries. This time Talton works his magic on the very real 1978 car bombing death of reporter Don Bolles-- something that happened shortly after I moved to Phoenix. The author can still give me thrills when I read about an historian's excitement upon uncovering primary sources, and there are so many layers to this investigation and so many well-known names that I was compelled to keep reading faster and faster.

Talton does not let up on the tension or the action in The Bomb Shelter, and there's even some mood-lightening humor from time to time. It's fun to speculate about how close he came to solving the Bolles murder. His main characters-- Mapstone, wife Lindsey, Mike Peralta, and new addition Malik Jones-- are well-drawn and feel almost as though they're members of my family. Especially Mapstone. With his constant whining about the heat here in Phoenix, I want to look at him like he's my cousin Steve and say, "You're a native Phoenician. It gets hot here. Suck it up (and shut up)!"

This is a series I've loved since the first book, Concrete Desert. Talton is a gifted storyteller, and I love reading about the characters he's created and learning a bit about the fascinating history of my adopted hometown. It will be interesting to see where he takes his readers next.