I bet Jon McGoran has seen a lot of Hollywood
cop movies. A LOT of Hollywood
cop movies. And I bet he was imagining his book Drift as a movie as he wrote it.
The hero, Doyle Carrick, is a likable guy. A Philadelphia narcotics
detective on suspension for unprofessional behavior. Bit of a hot head, but
with a good heart. If he’s not shooting at something or someone, he is being
shot at. He loves his gun. He takes it with him everywhere – even into the
shower at one point! And he’s even able to take control of a gun in the arms of
a dead bad guy and use it to shoot at the other bad guys.
With nothing else to do while on suspension, Doyle heads to
his parents’ house in the country when his stepfather dies. His mother is
already dead. He meets a pretty girl, a stereotypical blustery incompetent
chief of police, and a host of shady characters. The girl, Nola, is trying to
establish an organic farm, but someone is determined to see her fail.
This book is light on romance and character development
(despite the hero’s brooding over his relationship with his dead stepfather),
heavy on rogue cop action. There are a lot of convoluted twists to the plot,
leaving gaping holes behind. But it’s a quick read. If you like Russian bad
guys, cops with a heavy trigger finger, buddy cop banter, and a pretty girl
thrown in for good measure, you may enjoy Drift.
The Galesburg Public Library owns both of Jon McGoran’s
ecological thrillers, Drift and its
sequel Deadout.
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