Shamus Award–winner John Straley returns to his critically acclaimed Cecil Younger detective series, set in Sitka, Alaska, a land of perfect beauty and not-so-perfect locals.Criminal defense investigator Cecil Younger spends his days coaching would-be felons on how to avoid incriminating themselves. He even likes most of the rough characters who seek his services. So when Sherrie, a returning … Sherrie, a returning client, asks him to track down some evidence to clear her of a domestic violence charge, Cecil agrees. Maybe he’ll find something that will get her abusive boyfriend locked up for good.
Cecil treks out to the shady apartment complex only to discover the “evidence” is a large pile of cash—fifty thousand dollars, to be exact. That is how Cecil finds himself in violation of one of his own maxims: Nothing good comes of walking around with a lot of someone else’s money.
In this case, “nothing good” turns out to be a deep freeze full of drug-stuffed fish, a murder witnessed at close range, and a kidnapping—his teenage daughter, Blossom, is snatched as collateral for his cooperation. The reluctant, deeply unlucky investigator turns to an unlikely source for help: the misfit gang of clients he’s helped to defend over the years. Together, they devise a plan to free Blossom and restore order to Sitka. But when your only hope for justice lies in the hands of a group of criminals, things don’t always go according to plan.
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Straley doesn’t write like anybody. He carefully lays out all the lines that the story and the protagonist aren’t traditionally supposed to cross and then gleefully blows through every single one of them. Baby’s First Felony is a thrilling surprise from start to finish. Seriously dark and funny as hell. I’ll be giving Christmas copies to friends with good taste.
Cecil Younger clutches his laid-back sense of humor like a life ring as he descends into the underworld of his genial Alaska fishing town. I love the way he wryly watches himself make every mistake in the manual for low-life klutzes he helped write — it’s what makes this romp on the dark side so much fun.
A new book by John is always a cause for celebration here in Southeast Alaska, where he gets our home so right on so many levels, from the rain and the ravens on the telephone lines to the crystal mountain sunrises. But the thing that John does, or one thing that he does better than anyone, is bring the world’s issues — the dark and dangerous and ugly — into this beautiful remote place way out on the outer coast of North America, and then allows characters like Cecil Younger — who, like so many Alaskans, is quirky, kind, smart, brave, and so crazy he is sane — to solve them. John writes with a poet’s heart, a comedian’s timing, the real-life experience of a criminal investigator, and the soul of a great storyteller. He breaks my heart and heals it again in every book. John’s writing is like a combination of James Lee Burke, Ken Kesey, and William Stafford. At the same time, he could be a genre unto himself.
John Straley is an Alaskan treasure. Baby’s First Felony is a page-turning, darkly hilarious murder mystery turned upside down. With the help of a crazy cast of characters, investigator Cecil Younger is taking on the criminal underbelly of an Alaska seaside town, even as he faces the equally terrifying trials of parenting a teenager. As always, Straley has brought his unflinching eye, compassionate heart and lyrical voice to the story. Northern noir at its best.
This is seventh in the Cecil Younger series. Though I haven’t read any of the others, this book works as a standalone.
What didn’t work for me:
There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the book, but somehow I was disappointed. I don’t know why. That frustrates me, as this book had many of the elements that I normally enjoy. I had problems reading it and contemplated not finishing it. (I hate saying that.)
Maybe it wasn’t a good fit for me, or I wasn’t a good fit for the book. Sometimes that just happens.
What worked for me:
1. Cecil’s narrative tone is wry and often humorous.
Here are two quotes that I enjoyed:
Your Honors, Dashiell Hammett once wrote, “The cheaper the hood, the gaudier the patter,” but in my experience, the cheaper the hood, and the more excited they are, the more frequently they use the word “fuck.” page 86
With bears and with meth heads with guns, the basic rule is this: don’t seem like food, and don’t challenge them to a fight. Make it seem like you are just too much trouble to kill.” page 87
2. Minor characters were well-rounded.
No spoilers. Sherrie surprised me, as did Gudger, when they showed different aspects of their personalities. Though Sherrie might be a hardened woman, she’s capable of sorrow for a vulnerable person. Though Gudger is an alcoholic inebriate, “institutionalized”, when given the right environment, he thrives.
3. Cecil’s view of the clients is realistic.
Straley spent several decades as a criminal defense investigator, and that experience shows. Cecil’s realistic about the work of a public defender and their clients. While he has compassion for their situations, he’s not sentimental, optimistic, or soft on crime. Most are guilty. Most will continue to do drugs, shoplift, assault, whatever, no matter how harshly the legal system penalizes them.
Some, like Sherrie, have been so mistreated their entire lives that they cannot accept kindness, even genuine kindness. Others, like Cecil’s pal Gudger, are homeless and any roof, even a jailhouse roof, is preferable. All will justify their crimes:
“The hardest lesson for a young public defender to learn is that your clients, even in the midst of doing something completely antisocial, violent or self-destructive, feel justified” page 174
My final thoughts:
I really struggled with this book. As I said earlier, I can’t quite figure out why. I think it might be a case of a mismatch between reader and book. Straley knows how to tell a good story. 3 stars, but I think fans of Straley’s previous books will rate it higher.
What a wild wild ride. Straley grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. You think left and he goes right. You think up and he goes down. Cecil Younger is a continuously great but flawed and wobbly investigating hero.