The Fairfax Incident by Terrence McCauley - Novel Adventures Book Club July Pick Review

Overview:

Manhattan, 1933. Charlie Doherty may have been kicked off the force after The Grand Central Massacre, but thanks to a wealthy benefactor, his private detective business is booming. Catering to the city’s wealthy elite, Doherty is making a good living chasing down wayward spouses and runaway socialites when the case of a lifetime lands in his lap. Mrs. Fairfax, a wealthy widow, hires Doherty to prove her husband’s suicide wasn’t actually a suicide. It was murder.

At his benefactor's urging, Doherty takes the case. He expects to pocket a nice chunk of change to prove what everyone already knows: Walter Fairfax walked into his office in the Empire State Building one morning, took a phone call, and shot himself. But Charlie took the widow's money, so he begins to dig.

He quickly finds out there is more to the Fairfax incident than a simple suicide. Before long, he discovers that Mr. Fairfax was leading a double life; running with a dangerous crowd that has a sinister agenda that threatens to plunge Charlie’s city – and his country – into another war.

In an investigation that quickly involves global implications, Doherty finds himself against not only some of the most powerful people in New York City, but against the most evil men in the world.

My Review:

For the month of July, The Novel Adventures Book Club chose to read The Fairfax Incident by Terrence McCauley. In this book, we meet Charlie Doherty, a private detective who has been hired to prove Mrs. Fairfax's husband was murdered.  Charlie is convinced it was a suicide but he's getting paid handsomely so he decides to ask a few questions, feeling sure it will confirm that it was actually a suicide.  Things quickly take an unexpected turn when Charlie gets shot at and he soon finds himself in the middle of something much larger than a murder investigation.

If you've read my blog at all, you know I don't really like to read "historical" books set any later than the early 1880's and actually prefer them in the late 1780's - 1830-ish.  Anything after that is just too modern for my tastes so I was hesitant to pick this book up but the premise was intriguing.  I also had a little trepidation because in my experience, books set during this time period typically focuses on the Depression and prohibition slums of NYC and in my opinion has been done to death and I just couldn't stomach another book like that.

I was very pleasantly surprised when I began reading and learned that McCauley went in a different direction entirely.  It was fun to see a different spin on this time period because people tend to forget that there were still a lot of wealthy people in the Depression and it was refreshing to see this spin.

Having a degree in history, I know that even though it was 1933 and most people in the US were focused solely on survival, there was a huge underground movement to bring Nazis into power - not only in Germany but world-wide.  Hitler had only been in power a few months at this point and he was on almost no one's radar which is why he was able to move so quickly.  McCauley putting all this in the book tells me he understands history and I am really happy he focused on this aspect, rather than the cliche.

The characters are done really well and they feel real - even the minor ones.  A great deal of thought and energy went into the development of each one and it shows.  There was enough back story to bring each character to life while still leaving a little mystery and room for development in future books and I love that.  I want to know enough to get me emotionally invested without knowing every single detail so that I can get to know the character over time, just like I would a real person.

Charlie has a tough-guy attitude but with enough humor thrown in to keep him from being a cliche, run-of-the-mill hard boiled detective.  That isn't an easy balance to strike but McCauley pulls it off perfectly.  I also really loved Mrs. Fairfax and hope she makes other appearances in future books.  I have some suspicions about Mr. Van Dorn and Father Mullins but that's ok.  I'll wait to see how things play out in future books. 

The plot was well paced and intriguing.  It's hard to make a story believable, especially when you throw in a Nazi or two but McCauley has managed to do just that.  As I said before, a lot of people don't know how much was going on prior to the "official" start of WWII and also the eventual involvement of the US and I am glad to see McCauley bring it to life in this book.  It would have been way too easy to go down the typical Depression-era road or even make it over-the-top but he has pulled it off beautifully and it made this book a pleasure to read.  

I know McCauley loves cigars and I thought it was great that he put in a cigar store.  It's a personal touch that makes the story all the more real and I love that. 

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and I certainly hope there will be more to come in this series.  I loved it so much, I read it in just a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.  Not many books do that to me these days so it was a welcome change.

If you've read this book, join the discussion below!