The sheriffs department serving the ski resort town of Rocky Points Colorado is lucky to have a dedicated guy like David Wolf on the force. For sixteen years he’s been focused on filling the top spot as sheriff and now it’s opening up. But his quick trip to retrieve his brother’s body from Italy coincided with the town council meeting naming a new sheriff, who happens to be his muscle-bound, pea-brained nemesis and whose father virtually owns the town. As a consolation prize Wolf is offered a job as head of security for said town’s owner at an exhorbitant salary. But he promptly turns it down and his refusal sets in motion a series of events that soon has him on the run, fighting to clear his name on multiple murder charges.
“The Silversmith” is Jeff Carson’s second book in the David Wolf series and it picks up where “Foreign Deceit” left off and is equally engrossing, delving a bit deeper into our protagonist’s psyche without getting sloppy. He’s an interesting character; a stand-up guy who is part boy scout, not afraid to stick his neck out to right a perceived wrong and yet all too willing to break the rules if he thinks it’s called for. As a former Navy SEAL, Wolf is the one you want to have your back when the going gets tough. He’s a smart guy with good analytical skills and even better instincts but to author Carson’s credit, he messes up just enough to keep things believable.
However my credibility radar started pinging like mad on the hired villain. He’s more than a bit over the top; nearly seven feet tall with feet that dwarf Wolf’s size thirteens, a maniacal laugh and not a single solitary redeeming quality. Evil personified. (Big eye roll here.) Even considering his amoral acts, my mind kept envisioning a silent movie villain with beady eyes, twirling a waxed handlebar moustache. He’s just too much of a cliche.
I enjoy Carson’s writing style; action oriented with good character development and credible plots. As much as I’m enjoying David Wolf’s exploits I have to comment on author Carson’s misuse of the term “smattered”. I realize some will think me nitpicky but he needs to check his dictionary on the infinitive “to smatter” as in:
“Footprints smattered the dirt everywhere, inside the tape and out.”
“To smatter” is to babble or speak unintelligibly. I think scattered or spattered would be more correct. The term was similarly misused in “Foreign Deceit” but I gave it a pass as a single instance. Obviously I was wrong. I hope not to encounter more of the same in Book Three. Four stars.
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