The Incident by John Montesano

The Incident by John Montesano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you enjoy crime novels with lots of action and suspense The Incident is for you. The characters in this well-written novel are complex and fascinating, especially its main protagonist. This is a hard book to put down with enough tension in the plot to keep the pages turning.

The story is about Chase Barnes, a police officer who has an incident in his background that has affected him psychologically. His inability to get his act together is so extreme, the upper echelon of the Paterson, NJ police force has decided to let him go. But his captain, who is also his friend, suggests that he go out on his own. Chase can become a private detective and the force will help him with resources as well as by throwing cases his way. This plan seems like something he's well-suited for and, since he doesn't have any other options, that's what he does.

Chase's wife, who is a public school teacher, asks him to look into one of her students, a twelve-year-old boy whom she feels is getting into trouble. Coincidentally, Captain Fitzgerald asks Chase to look into the same boy, who has now gone missing. The book takes off from there, covering the case he's working on as well as slowly revealing the specifics of the incident in his background. John Montesano clearly knows the politics of the public school system in Paterson New Jersey and has thoroughly researched the politics in that city's police department. The book has enough facts to give it a realistic feel.

Although there is some graphically written violence, that is to be expected in this genre. I recommend this book to anyone who likes action packed thrillers.



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