The Last Clinic: Gary Gusick

By the time I was three chapters into this book, I was beginning to dislike the approach. I found that the depiction of the South and its denizens was a little over the top. Maybe flippant, maybe serious, I could not tell. The comments that set the book firmly in the South sometimes seemed too forced. However, by the time I had read about 40% of the book (I was reading via the Kindle app), I was involved in the plot and ready to forgive most of the quibbles I had with the book.

From the description at Goodreads:

Outside the local women’s health clinic, the Reverend Jimmy Aldridge waving his protest sign is a familiar sight. But that changes early one morning when someone shoots the beloved Reverend Jimmy dead. Sheriff Shelby Mitchell knows the preacher’s murder will shock the good people of Jackson—and the pressure to find the killer is immediate and intense, which is why Shelby calls in detective Darla Cavannah.

The Reverend is protesting the women's health clinic because the doctor who runs it is known to do abortions. This book puts the topic of abortion front and center.  Put that together with the fact that I grew up in the South (Alabama), and reading this touched on some hot topics for me. Primarily, judging it as a mystery, I give it very high marks. I did have quibbles in some areas, however.

The strength of this book is in the plot. The story moved forward with a good pace, and there were side stories that were interesting. It kept me engaged.

I liked the protagonist, a woman, and felt like her character was well developed. Darla Cavanaugh has come to the Hinds County Sheriff's Department from the Philadelphia Police Department and is an outsider. Her husband, who was killed in an automobile accident within the last year, was a native of Jackson, and a hometown hero because he was a pro football star.

However, I felt like the remaining characters were either caricatures or not fully developed. OK, I really did like Shelby Mitchell, the sheriff and Darla's boss, even though he chewed tobacco... and "addressed all women, regardless of their name or marital status, as Miss, followed by their first name." So Darla is "Miss Darla", her partner is addressed as Tommy.

Tommy Reylander is nominally Darla's partner on this case, although they are working in different directions and not supporting each other at all. Tommy is a local, and he is an Elvis impersonator. If he was better at it, he would be doing that for a living rather than working in law enforcement.

I found that the depiction of the South and its denizens was a little over the top. However, the author lives in Jackson, Mississippi and I haven't been in that state in decades, so who am I to say? I honestly was not sure how serious the author was when describing attitudes in the South.  And those descriptions made me more than a little uncomfortable at times.

Many reviews say that the book presents both sides of the abortion issue very fairly but I cannot agree with that. To be clear, I am not strongly pro or con the subject of abortion. In this book, the characters who were anti-abortion were primarily portrayed as rednecks or worse. I am sure that in the South there are intelligent thinking persons who are anti-abortion.

So you can see that I liked a lot about the book, but had problems with it too. It is Gary Gusick's debut novel, and I think he has done quite well. At the same time that the book made me uncomfortable, it made me think, and that is a good thing. This book is supposed to be part of a series, and if another is published, I will read it.

I received a free copy of this book for review via NetGalley. 

Info about the author that was supplied at the end of the e-book copy I had:

Gary Gusick is a retired advertising executive with more than thirty years experience as a copywriter and creative director. He is a multiple winner of virtually every national and international award for creative excellence in advertising. Gary is married and lives with his wife in Jackson, Mississippi.

Some other reviews:
At The Novel Pursuit
At Writing To Be Read