Riker's Calling by Rico Lamoureux
is fast-paced thrilling crime-mystery novella with a mastermind of a villain. Brilliantly
wicked!
Bullied in
his teens, 21-year-old Jeremy Riker looks to become a police officer to do some
good and stop bullies. But an injury renders him slightly deformed and
obliterates his dreams of joining law enforcement. Despite extensive training,
he is denied the opportunity to join law enforcement several times. So he
becomes a kind of vigilante and considers opening his own private
investigations (P.I.) firm with his friend and mentor Max.
Highly
trained in martial arts, spotting bad guys, and a host of other skills, Riker
is seen as the perfect person for law enforcement despite his injury.
"I
knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the past several hours had been anything
but random. Someone out there knew my history."
Unknown to
Riker, a killer, named The Spyderco Killer because of the Spyderco (a kind of
knife) he leaves in his victims' backs, has set his eyes on him but continuously
eludes him, until he – the killer – decides to go on a killing spree, hitting
close to home for Riker.
Although the
novella is called Riker's Calling, there are only two instances where
the narration is from Riker's perspective. We get the killer's views, movement,
and action, but in the third person.
One of the
things I liked about Riker's Calling is Lamoureux's way of giving the
reader information through a variety of sources such as a news anchor, tweets,
and people talking about events. We even get bits of Riker's history from the
killer's perspective.
I thought the
novel was a bit gritty at times, especially since the killer slashed his
victims' throats but there was a little more than just throat slashing.
"Fifteen
cigars – nine with red bands, to represent the past nine years of silence and
therefore the nine victims to come, and six with yellow bands, for any collateral
damage that might occur."
The novel
spans almost two decades but starts in the present time with bits of flashbacks
and Riker and the killer playing cat and mouse.
I liked
Riker's narration, especially how relatable he was, using examples from crime
series like Law & Order, and mentioning notes on crimes and criminals. The
irony in the novella was mind-blowing at times!
Overall, Riker's
Calling is meticulously connected; it's brilliant! Lamoureux is lauded for
his twists and for creating a genius killer. It is definitely a five-star action-packed
must-read.
"Truth
is rarely blossoming with flowers. More often than not it's cold, it's hard,
and if you're not in alignment with it, it'll smash you to pieces."
Note: I received a free
copy of Riker's Calling from its author in exchange for an
honest – overdue – review.
Note
2 to readers: There is a significant amount of profanity and curse words.
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