CITY of WINDOWS (Lucas Page #1) by Robert Pobi

 


Published by Macmillan Audio in 2019.
Read by Stephen Graybill.
Duration: 11 hours, 5 minutes.
Unabridged.

Lucas Page is a certified genius (an astrophysicist) with a special talent - he can envision the relations between the stars as they rotate in the sky above and predict where they will go mathematically. It is a natural talent, one he's had since he was a little boy. He can apply this skill to crime scenes as well. He can eyeball a crime scene and tell from what direction and angle a shot came from without having to take all of the steps that Crime Scene Investigators usually have to take. 

But, he was seriously injured while on the job with the FBI several years ago. The incident took an eye, a hand and part of a leg. He gladly walked away from the FBI and became a college professor.


But, when his old partner is killed by a sniper with a very long-range shot on a busy road in New York City in the middle of a snowstorm, Lucas Page is reluctantly called back into duty. He easily figures out the angles for the shooting, but the secrets he uncovers along the way in his investigation aren't nearly as easy to deal with...

City of Windows had a lot of positives going for it, including an interesting back story for the Lucas Page, supporting characters that you want to root for and a grown up discussion of guns and violence in America.

*****SPOILERS*****

The book has a lot of discussion of militias and "patriot" movement groups. People who follow these topics, even on a superficial level will recognize the parallels to Ruby Ridge siege of 1992 in Idaho involving the FBI and the U.S. Marshals. It starts out very unsympathetic to their arguments, but then takes a turn that shows that sometimes they have a point. It does not end up supporting them, but makes an interesting discussion.

The book also has an interesting discussion of guns. It never advocates getting rid of them, but readily acknowledges that groups like the NRA (I am a former member) and its ever-active spokesman Wayne LaPierre whip up a lot of outrage no matter whether it makes sense or not and how this interacts with the politics of militias and patriot movement groups.

*****END SPOILERS*****

I ended up rating this book 3 stars out of 5. The mystery was very solid but the author's writing style was often overdone. Too many times he added an extra metaphor that didn't need to be there. For example, I clearly remember a reference to a rope ladder hanging from a house window being compared to a disconnected spinal column. It struck me as the author trying too hard. 

On top of that, the main character, Lucas Page, was more than a little hard to take. Would I want him working on a murder case if I were the FBI? Of course - he's talented and who cares about his manners?

But, I am not working with him - I am choosing to spend 11 hours with him in an audiobook and I don't think I will choose to spend another 11 hours with him in the next book since I wouldn't want to spend 11 hours with him in real life.

Bottom line: This book has some good points, a solid mystery but not enough for me to say it was more than "just okay" and certainly not enough for me to go on with the rest of the series.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: CITY of WINDOWS (Lucas Page #1) by Robert Pobi.


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