Tortured Truths (Phillip McGuire Mysteries #1) - Randy Attwood

I warned you, didn't I? I said after I read Attwood's Heart Chants that I was going to have to read the first book in the series. Well, I did, and here's what I thought.

Tortured Truths is a very different book from Heart Chants. Phillip McGuire is the main character in both books, but Tortured Truths is the story of how the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist found his way back to Lawrence, Kansas, and decides to revitalize a local bar. Of course, you can never take the hound out of the newshound, and so McGuire soon finds himself investigating some odd local goings-on: the disappearance of some local kids whose bodies end up in the river with traces of drugs in their system; the strange behavior of the guy who heads the university foundation; and where that same guy is getting all his money. On top of that, he gets romantically involved with a journalism student named Sheila Perez who comes to the bar to do a story on him, and convinces her to write a story about the foundation's funding. Of course, the bodies and the money are tied together, and things get dicey for McGuire, as well as those he cares for, before it's all wrapped up.

I had two quibbles: McGuire occasionally calls Sheila "Signora Perez," using the Italian honorific -- but Perez is a Hispanic surname. I wasn't sure whether he was kidding around, or whether it was a mistake. My other quibble involved McGuire's decision to put Sheila in the middle of everything. I wondered whether that move was morally defensible -- but maybe only another old journalist would have a problem with it. Those two things aside, McGuire is an appealing character whose pain is very real, and the small-town political atmosphere was spot-on. I would recommend Tortured Truths as an enjoyable read.

Heart Chants (Phillip McGuire Mysteries #2) - Randy Attwood

This week, I'm reviewing a book that treats Native American beliefs and customs with a great deal more respect than The Blue Coyote Motel does.

I'm not a big fan of mysteries, usually, but I have enjoyed reading Tony Hillerman's books -- mainly for the glimpses into Navajo culture that his characters provide.

Heart Chants is similar to Hillerman's work in that it's a mystery, although "thriller" may be a more accurate genre description, and that it includes a lot of information about the Navajo. But there's quite a bit more to it.

Phil McGuire is a former journalist who quit the business after a horrific incident in Beirut and retired to Lawrence, Kansas, where he now owns a bar. One night outside the bar, he rescues a Chinese woman from a group of thugs, and gets beaten up in the process. At about the same time, two Navajo women have disappeared from the local community college, and a third -- who is like the missing women in that her father is a singer -- is convinced her friends were kidnapped. She comes to Phil for a place to hide, so she doesn't end up missing, too.

Phil's story runs concurrently with that of a half-Navajo, half-white man who wants the whites in America to go back where they came from. It's not long before we realize this young man is involved with the disappearance of the women, and much of the book's tension comes from watching these two story lines head for their inevitable collision.

Attwood is an old newspaperman himself, and it shows in his ability to tell a story. His characters are genuine -- I liked Phil right away -- and it's clear he did his research into Navajo culture. Although this is the second book in this series, I didn't have any trouble keeping up with either the characters or the plot.

I enjoyed Heart Chants very much, and I'll definitely be looking for more of Attwood's work.