PAST GRIEF by Edward J. Leahy follows Kim Brady, a detective mired in grief following her father’s suicide. Dad was a good cop turned bad, and, as Kim investigates a barroom massacre, she finds herself the target of another corrupt cop — one who is willing to kill and kill again in order to cover up his crimes. Leahy has penned a compelling cop thriller with a handful of unique twists. The title works on a couple of levels. It’s a take on a line from Shakespeare: “What’s gone and what’s past help should be past grief.” All of the characters in this novel suffer from a lingering haunt, a past grief they’re unable to escape. Yet Kim’s journey implies you can get “past grief” and arrive at a happier place where memories are no longer painful.
One of the most interesting characters in the story is Andy/Leanne. Leahy handles this transsexual character with a great deal of humanity but not kid gloves. Leanne struggles with family resentment and work harassment. She’s used to hiding but her connection with Kim’s investigation forces her to step into the light and acknowledge who she is and who she wants to be. Despite the risks–and perhaps because of them–Leanne finds the strength she needs to move forward with a full-fledged gender transition.
Several primetime police shows come to mind as PAST GRIEF unfolds. There are good detectives, dirty cops, and dastardly drug dealers. Kim is a formidable detective, female or not, but her boyfriend falls into a tragic “dude in distress” role, frequently requiring her protection and reassurance. The bad guy catches a lot of lucky breaks and he’s a serious over-killer. Not only is he behind the barroom massacre that opens the novel, he’s willing to kill anyone involved in the crime investigation, from drug dealers, to witnesses, to fellow cops. Even people in witness protection end up dead. Are the other cops in PAST GRIEF truly terrible at their jobs, or are Kim and partner Mike really that brilliant? The answer lies somewhere in the middle. PAST GRIEF is at its best when it examines the deeper motivations of minor characters like Leanne and Nolan, people seeking redemption through physical and spiritual changes.
Interesting characters and the choices they make keep Edward J. Leahy’s PAST GRIEF–an otherwise standard cop thriller–from becoming humdrum.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader