The Good Detective

· A P.T. Marsh Novel Book 1 · Sold by Penguin
4.0
4 reviews
Ebook
320
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

A New York Times Book Review Top 10 Crime Novel for the Year

"John McMahon is one of those rare writers who seem to have sprung out of nowhere. His first novel, The Good Detective, which is pretty much perfect, features a decent if flawed hero battling personal troubles while occupied with a murder case of great consequence to his community."--New York Times Book Review

Introducing Detective P.T. Marsh in a swift and bruising debut where Elmore Leonard's staccato prose meets Greg Iles' Southern settings.

How can you solve a crime if you've killed the prime suspect?


Detective P.T. Marsh was a rising star on the police force of Mason Falls, Georgia--until his wife and young son died in an accident. Since that night, he's lost the ability to see the line between smart moves and disastrous decisions. Such as when he agrees to help out a woman by confronting her abusive boyfriend. When the next morning he gets called to the scene of his newest murder case, he is stunned to arrive at the house of the very man he beat up the night before. He could swear the guy was alive when he left, but can he be sure? What's certain is that his fingerprints are all over the crime scene.

The trouble is only beginning. When the dead body of a black teenager is found in a burned-out field with a portion of a blackened rope around his neck, P.T. realizes he might have killed the number-one suspect of this horrific crime.

Amid rising racial tension and media scrutiny, P.T. uncovers something sinister at the heart of the boy's murder--a conspiracy leading all the way back to the time of the Civil War. Risking everything to unravel the puzzle even as he fights his own personal demons, P.T. races headlong toward an incendiary and life-altering showdown.

Ratings and reviews

4.0
4 reviews
Linda Strong
February 7, 2021
Detective P T Marsh and his partner, Remy, are investigating what they feel is a hate crime. A young black teenager has been tortured, beaten, hanged, and set on fire. What Detective Marsh did was something no cop should ever do ... he tampered with the evidence. He removed the rope around the young man's neck in the hope that they can keep this part of his death secret. Amid rising racial tension and media scrutiny, P.T. uncovers something sinister at the heart of the young boy's murder--a conspiracy leading all the way back to the time of the Civil War. This is the first in a series featuring P T Marsh. He's always been respected as a good cop, but the death of his pregnant wife and son has him reeling. He's drinking way too much, but it's the only way he can put his memories to rest. If he continues the drinking, it won't be only his health affected .. it may cost him his job. There's lots of action with frequent changes of direction and multiple varied suspects that bear watching. Marsh is an interesting character, not the pillar of the framework around which law enforcement is build. Characters are deftly drawn amid an intricate plot. I look forward to reading the books following. Many thanks to the author / Putnam Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
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About the author

John McMahon studied Creative Writing at The University of Arizona. In his role as an ad agency creative director, his work has won a Gold Clio for Fiat, and he's written a Super Bowl spot for Alfa Romeo. He currently lives in Southern California with his family and two rescue animals.

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