In Jane Haddam’s One of Our Own, Gregor Demarkian, former FBI agent and police consultant, returns for his final case–a surprising murder and an attempted murder, which threaten the safety of his Philadelphia neighborhood. A mysterious black van is spotted by several people at various times in the area around Cavanaugh Street, Philadelphia’s Armenian-American enclave. Presumed by some to be … Presumed by some to be related to the increasing ICE raids around the area, the mystery deepens one night when a body falls out of the back of the van when speeding through the neighborhood.
Marta Warkowski, a reclusive older woman, is found bound up in a garbage bag after it falls out of the van. In a coma, Warkowski is unable to tell police how she ended up as she did. When they go to search her apartment, the police find the dead body of her building’s super, a man with whom she has a history of conflict. How did she end up in garbage bag in the back of a mysterious van? How did he end up dead in her locked apartment? What does all of this have to do with the real estate holdings of infamous local developer, Cary Alder?
Gregor Demarkian, former FBI agent and consultant, is ready to retire. He and his wife Bennis have agreed to foster a child, Javier, with a mysterious past and limited language skills. But he is pulled in once again, for a final case, to uncover the truth about the murder–and attempted murder–on Cavanaugh Street.
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Gregor Demarkian, former FBI agent and consultant, is ready to retire. He and his wife Bennis have agreed to foster a child, Javier, with a mysterious past and limited language skills. He’s called once again to join an investigation.
Marta Warkowski, a reclusive older woman, is found bound up in a garbage bag after it falls out of the van. In a coma, Warkowski is unable to tell police how she ended up as she did. When they go to search her apartment, the police find the dead body of her building’s super, a man with whom she has a history of conflict.
Who killed the super? Why was she in the back of a van … tied up in a garbage bag?
Lots of action in this one .. lots of characters to follow … and suspect. Added to the murder mystery is a parallel story of a local developer, Cary Alder. FBI have eyes o him … but he isn’t working alone. How does tie into the murder of a super ,,, and the attempted murder of the woman .. or is she the one who murdered the super?
Twists and turns are compelling. Characters are all deftly drawn. The ending, although not totally unexpected, was satisfactory. Although 30th in the series, this reads easily as a stand alone.
Many thanks to the author / St Martin’s Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
It’s hard to say goodbye. The mystery community lost a wonderful voice when Orania Papazoglou passed away before finishing this, the 30th book in her great series. Her sons picked up the torch and brought One of Our Own to publication. Thanks, guys. On one hand it is hard knowing this ends the series but long running story lines were tied up and I finished the book feeling satisfied.
First, this may not work for most readers as a stand alone. As the 30th book, if you have not read the previous books this may leave you a bit confused. Having said that, it’s still a great read. It’s full of tension, various points of view, current issues and lots of strong emotions. There is a lot packed into this book. Immigration is front and center – some are people who have been in America for decades and some who are new to our country. We meet Javier, a seven year old boy who is taken in as a foster child by Bennis and Gregor, a child who came as an unaccompanied minor and was lucky to find shelter with a group of nuns. The elderly woman who has lived her whole life in the same apartment is angry and afraid due to the changes in her neighborhood. She especially is at odds with the apartment super. Other characters in the book are running their own illegal games and the Feds are very interested. Soon Gregor, former FBI, is asked to join the investigation. I won’t say more to prevent spoilers. Fans of the series will be glad to spend time with the regular characters we have come to know and, if you enjoyed One of Our Own as much as I did, you will read the end and say thank you, Orania, for many, many hours of reading pleasure.
My thanks to the publisher, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
law-enforcement, immigrants, murder, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship, intolerance
I have no idea why I haven’t kept up with Demarkian for the last six years, but I was excited to see one on offer from NetGalley. But. I was sad to see that the author was assaulted by a virulent form of Breast Cancer and that this is the last one that she wrote. At least we have all the others to go back to and can see the list on https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/
Now then. Demarkian is retired FBI with a degree in accounting and is currently on board as a consultant to the Philadelphia PD on an apparent attempted murder. He had happened to be close by the parish church on a private errand involving the fostering of a 7 year old traumatized boy who spoke no English (but understood much) and, apparently, a rescue dachshund. What was immediately known is that a large leaf bag containing a battered older woman who lived nearby fell out of a sinister big black van which had recently been cruising the ethnically changed neighborhood. No ID and in a coma, but once identified and residence located, a dead body with no face was found in her flat. Now comes a very complex investigation involving ethnic neighborhoods, legal and clandestine immigrants and the attitudes and prejudices that they have as well as the ones they face (including Demarkian himself). An excellent tale as a mystery and as a reminder to all of us whose parent, grands, and greats came here from wherever to face the unknown.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
This is a final book in the series. I haven’t read any of the other titles. That’s unfortunate: I’m sure I missed a great deal of nuance in the story. There’s quite a bit of reference to earlier novels and some of that confused me. Even so, Haddam gave enough contextual clues that I was able to work out some of the characters’ past interactions.
While a big part of the actual mystery didn’t interest me, the characters did. That kept me reading. Characters like Bennis, Gregor’s wife, and the priest, Gregor’s old friend, intrigued me. Tommy, a young teen, struggles in his relationship with his surrogate father, now jailed for murder. Sister Margaret Mary fears ICE raids (as most of the residents in the Hispanic neighborhood do) and I could understand and feel the fear an unmarked van sparked throughout the area. Pickles the overdressed dog made a terrific addition to the cast.
Some characters I rooted for; others I rooted for their downfall. But they were always believable. Even the unsympathetic ones, such as Marta (who refuses to give up the apartment that’s been in her family for generations) or Meera (always infuriated by Americans), sparked an emotional response. Even when I didn’t have a clue what was happening, I was apprehensive about what lay ahead for these people.
As the book went on, the conflict became clearer. It never felt very intense. While I never understood why the police would consult with Demarkian–he seems in their way–I did like how he investigated. While nothing in the book stood out as exceptional, One of Our Own is still a good mystery.
The book ends on a hopeful note. It’s a bittersweet but fitting farewell, I think, to a beloved series, and I feel confident that the characters will live on in readers’ imaginations.
When Haddam wrote this book, she was dying of cancer. In a sense, this is her goodbye to her supportive fans. They are probably the best judges of the quality of One of Our Own, not me.
The book is probably best for fans of the Gregor Demarkian series. Even so, I enjoyed it.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.