SOLOMON CREED
AUTHOR: SIMON TOYNE
BLURB: On a hilltop in the town of Redemption, Arizona, the townspeople gather at an old cemetery for the first time in decades to bury a local man. The somber occasion is suddenly disrupted by a thunderous explosion in the distant desert. A plane has crashed, and it’s pouring a pillar of black smoke into the air.
As Sheriff Garth Morgan speeds toward the crash, he nearly hits a tall, pale man running down the road, with no shoes on his feet and no memory of who he is or how he got there. The only clues to his identity are a label in his handmade suit jacket and a book that’s been inscribed to him: both giving the name Solomon Creed. When Morgan tells Solomon that he is in Redemption, Arizona, Solomon begins to believe he’s here for a reason—to save a man he has never met . . . the man who was buried that morning.
Miles away, three men scan the skies for an overdue plane carrying an important package. Spotting a black cloud in the distance, they suspect something has gone badly wrong, and that the man who has sent them will demand a heavy price if the package has been lost.
To uncover the secret of his identity, Solomon Creed must uncover Redemption’s secrets too and learn the truth behind the death of the man he is there to save. But there are those who will do anything to stop him, men prepared to call on the darkest forces to prevent Solomon from seeing the light.
I’d read previous books by this author and knew I was in for a decent novel that would be entertaining enough to hold my attention (during a busy time of the year for me) and provide good value for the time I’d invest. I was pleasantly surprised to find Solomon Creed an engaging character with a good balance of personality and mystery, a combination that appeals to me when looking for crime fiction.
The hint of supernatural undertones was just enough not to distract from the main plot and enough to keep me guessing. Hopefully this element of the series – yes it’s a series of novels – won’t over shadow the engaging storylines the way some of the more recent Charlie Parker novels have evolved.
At first it seemed like another drug cartel write-by-numbers piece, but it transcends that pretty quickly and provides us with not just a good vehicle for a main character that will endure, but a plot that makes you want to finish those last couple of chapters despite the late hour on a weeknight.
