Up for a little mystery? A little political intrigue? Throw in a dash of suspense and a cool as a cucumber PI and you have The Color of Greed, the first novel in the Raja Williams series by Jack Thompson.
We get to know James Bondish Raja and his trusty hot genius computer hacker assistant Vinnie when they get a call from a wealthy grieving widow in California who is convinced her husband has been murdered, despite the fact that his death was ruled as natural. The plot takes us from LA to Hollywood to San Fran as our protagonists chase down leads and become enmeshed in some pretty sordid political intrigue. The characters get away with a lot, but that’s half the fun.
While I enjoyed the characters in this new series, I felt they could have been given a lot more depth. Reminder: This is coming from a reader who thrives on character-driven fiction. For instance, Raja is somewhat of an empath but the story doesn’t really touch on this at all. I thought it was intriguing and would have loved to know more. I realize this is the first in a series and that many more little nuggets of background are sure to come in future installments, but I like to dig deep on what makes a character tick as soon as possible. It’s what binds me to them and makes me care. But Raja is as slick as they come, folks. If you’re a PI/mystery fan you’re sure to love him. Vinnie tended to get on my nerves a bit, but I think that’s intentional. I actually felt like I knew the secondary characters better than Raja and Vinnie and I enjoyed them immensely.
I like it that the plot took a twist near the end; however, I thought that line could have been fleshed out a little more, along with the new characters involved. It sort of came out of nowhere for me. Otherwise, it’s a very well-written novel with a solid plot. Mr. Thompson’s writing style is sparse and to the point without a lot of flowery, fluffy prose. He tells a good story, critical to a good novel, and a fact that (unfortunately) many self pubs seem to ignore.
This is a solid start to a new series written by an author who obviously knows the rules of weaving a satisfying plot (and of English and grammar YAY). For all of you who like a good, old-fashioned PI story in the vein of Columbo and Berretta (was he a PI?), pick this one up for a rollicking, quick, fun read. Definitely an author to watch.
the indie book review 