Title: Hot Shot: A Solomon King Mystery
Author: L. Wayne Daye
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1665506304
Pages: 238
Genre: Mystery
Reviewed by: Philip Zozzaro

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A police officer finds a body in the trash; the victim appears to have overdosed on heroin. Recently, there has been a spate of overdose deaths attributed to a heroin of pure quality. Many of the senior officers are indisposed, and Solomon King is called off his vacation to handle the initial investigation. King doesn’t suffer fools lightly, and doesn’t defer to authority in many cases. Yet, he has earned the grudging admiration of his peers as King is an old school murder investigator.

King may be gruff in demeanor, but he has a sympathetic ear and is empathetic with victims’ families. The uptick in victims with similar methods of demise sparks concerns over a possible serial killer. King is reluctantly partnered with Detective Linda Graves. Graves is an ambitious cop with something to prove, with aspirations for further mobility in the Police Department. Graves’s workload is burdensome, dealing with a serial rapist and now a possible serial killer. Graves and King appear to be mismatched initially, but they are persistent in their methods of investigation. The author slyly hints at some sexual tension between the two but doesn’t belabor it.

The target of their investigation is a brilliant man who has been grappling with grief. Professor Alford helped raise his young niece, trying to guide her toward the right path. The powerful grip of addiction seduced her and snuffed out her life. The suffering he feels is on a visceral level, and soon so is his desire for revenge. He has his sights set on the man who got his niece hooked. Alford knows his way around chemicals, and he is soon an angel of death visiting other unfortunate addicts. However, when is the desire to avenge satiated? When does Alford go from vigilante to serial killer?

Author L. Wayne Daye has written an effective police procedural from start to finish. The narrative moves almost seamlessly from the opening chapter. The motive of the killer is easy to understand, but as Alford proceeds to undertake more chaos, any empathy fades in the distance. The character of Solomon King is well written as being battle scarred but world wise. He is headstrong, but willing to hear out his colleague when it comes to their case. The plot is classic in style and may be seemingly familiar, but that doesn’t deter from how well the author ultimately crafted his book. Hot Shot: A Solomon King Mystery is a book for lovers of Detectives and Mysteries to enjoy.