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Buy it from our Amazon.com store - The Truth of Yesterday  

Writing a successful mystery franchise character such as Anthony Bidulka’s Russell Quant or Greg Herren’s Scotty Bradley is tough. The author has to keep things familiar enough so as not to lose readers but still make it fresh and interesting for old as well as new fans. Josh Aterovis (Ah-ter-oh-viss) is on his fourth Killian Kendall book, The Truth of Yesterday, but his young detective shows no signs of growing old before his time.

In this installment, Killian faces relationship problems with his boyfriend, Micah, becomes more comfortable with his psychic gifts and solves a complicated mystery involving Micah’s ex, Paul, a former rent boy who is found strangled. Along the way, he solves the puzzle of Amalie, the ghost who haunts his father’s bed and breakfast, and acquires a sidekick of his own.

Aterovis piles on the plot points but manages to balance them all nicely. Just when you think the story is sprawling too large, he fits a couple of pieces together and melds them into the whole like a master. Some of them don’t mesh entirely—the aforementioned relationship problems with Micah seem to be solved too easily and the Amalie story goes on far longer than it should at the end—however, this is probably due to the nature of the franchise itself. These two particular subplots have their origins or their final resolutions in past or future installments, so they don’t arc as smoothly as they would in a one-shot mystery.

That said, The Truth of Yesterday can and does stand alone. The mystery of who killed Paul has enough twists and turns to be interesting, and Aterovis has a good eye for detail even when dealing with minor characters. No one seems flat and even many of the minor characters—Paul’s vaguely rodent-like co-worker, Razi, and the head of the Top to Bottom Escort Agency, Neal (who has a double role here) in particular—are well-drawn and believable. The denouement of the mystery is also well done. Although the identity of the killer is perhaps less a surprise than Aterovis might like it to be, the climax is both suspenseful and exciting, delivering not just a resolution but also providing an interesting character who has the potential to play a pivotal role in future Killian Kendall novels.

This is the first of Aterovis’ mysteries I’ve read, but his command of the genre is impressive, and his writing chops are sufficient to make me eager for the next adventure. The Truth of Yesterday makes a fine addition to any mystery shelf.  

Reviewed by Jerry Wheeler