One of my favorite crime novels from the previous year was "The
Mailman," the first book in the Mercury Carter series by Andrew
Welsh-Huggins. The author is a long-time journalist in the Columbus area
and a few years ago he finally set aside his full-time journalism career
to focus on his other career of writing fiction. He had been doing both
things for years.
This new series featuring Mercury Carter is a winner. I loved the first
book and was nervous about this second one; would it be a good as the
first one, better? Or, disappointing? I am happy to declare both books
have knocked me out of my recliner.
Mercury Carter is a delivery guy. He has his own private delivery
service and has never failed to complete a delivery. He also has this
peculiar habit of stumbling upon ongoing crime activities and since he's
a good citizen, he'll usually intervene. The thugs he encounters don't
feel threatened by this unassuming dweeb who wears a baseball cap and a
utility vest. Their failure to recognize the level of threat he
represents often results in them on the ground, defenseless, their
wrists zip-tied, and their astonishment about their sudden defeats can
be delightful for the reader.
That's all I'm saying. I love this series.
The Book Nook airs Saturdays at 7 a.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO 91.3 FM and streams at WYSO.org or wherever you get your podcasts.The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Tipp City Public Library.
