Covey Jencks grew up in Odessa, Texas. After college, he joined the Army, attended law school, clerked on the Fifth Circuit, and suffered a stint at a D. C. law firm. He quits a life of white privilege to return home to solve the mysterious 1979 murder of Freddie Johnson, a black employee at Covey’s family business. Her life matters to Covey. For cover Covey opens a small firm filled with big … characters. Eventually another black woman reenters his life to become Covey’s crime-solving partner. Mexican gangs, Boston mobsters, and racist cops complicate but do not derail the successful investigation.
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Covey Jencks is a delight from start to finish and if you aren’t familiar with West Texas (specifically the Odessa area) you might feel like you know the town to a degree. Whether you know the town or not, you are probably aware of the football team from Friday Night Lights. There are many references to their winning years and even Covey’s role on the team. There are also references to Texas oil – both the good and the bad.
This story has two different timelines – the 1970s when the murder occurred and the 1990s when Covey is back in town and feels like he needs to figure out who killed Freddie, a friend from his youth working at his father’s car wash and an intriguing woman in her own right. I enjoyed the back and forth between the times as the story unfolded and more details of the crime and the characters were doled out to the reader. I kept wondering how Freddie’s murder might have taken place and who was involved, and while you have a clue to the second, the “how” was a mystery until the details were revealed. I was actually surprised at the involvement of one character because he portrays himself differently earlier in the book and I think that throws Covey and JayJay off.
The characters are multi-dimensional and some might surprise you as the story progresses and their involvement in past and present events. The cast of characters leaves no race, gender, or affiliation out and we see everything from white, black, brown, straight, and gay. Each character meshed well with the story and take note that there are racial slurs in the book which are appropriate to the time and location. I had no problem reading these because I know that 40 years ago is not today. I especially enjoyed all the references to many things we take for granted – cell phones, internet (and not dial-up!), and the start of coffee shops (aka Starbucks). I also enjoyed the various town references especially when the characters headed to the “big city” of Dallas et al.
Besides the mystery portion, I found different situations within the story humorous. I enjoy a good chuckle now and then because any author that can find humor in a situation is one that I will want to read again. Life is too crazy to not have some laughter now and again.
I’m not sure if this is going to be a series or not, but I would enjoy reading more about Covey’s family life coming out in light of what we know about his dad from this book. We also had a little peek into JayJay’s life as a younger woman and it would be enlightening to learn more about her and how she came to be in Covey’s life. Either way, this is an enjoyable book and one you might want to pick up.