Slow Fire (Will Magowan Series #1)

Publishers Weekly

Mercer shows promise, but succumbs to clichés and the implausible in his debut about a former LAPD narcotics detective trying to rebuild his life after being a heroin addict. Will Magowan's new job as police chief in the tiny rural California town of Haydenville is his chance to show that he's again ready for police work. Far from an idyllic town, Haydenville has a thriving meth industry that's made addicts of many residents. “Nice place to live, if it wasn't for all the tweakers,” thinks Will, who suspects convicted murderer turned famous author, Frank Carver, who often acts as the town's patron, is up to no good. Mercer explores with finesse Will's past, the loss of his son, and his desire to reconnect with his wife, Laurie, but he uses the mayor's threat to fire Will too often, and as the most casual viewer of police dramas knows, even a smalltown cop can't just shoot a criminal or have someone die on his watch and expect to be at work the next hour. Author tour. (Feb.)

Kirkus Reviews

An unpopular new sheriff learns that the drug kingpin he's been hunting may be one of the town's most eminent citizens. Leaving behind the gritty streets of Los Angeles and a heroin addiction, former LAPD narcotics detective Will Magowan takes a job as chief of police in the small Northern California town of Haydenville. His advanced skills are required almost immediately, when the body of young Caitlyn Johnson is discovered near an abandoned kayak. But a controversial shooting at the town's only bar puts Will in the cross hairs of local enemies like Frank Carver, transformed from a Hell's Angel and convicted killer into philanthropist and literary lion. Will's pending divorce, his eager but bumbling deputy Thomas, as well as the effort of staying clean pile up the stress, and Mayor Bonnie Newman, who hired him to clean up Haydenville's blossoming drug trade, warns that his days may be numbered. Will catches a break with the discovery of a meth stash at the remote cabin of skeevy Henry Bell, but Bell kills himself before he can name his criminal boss. Will's instinct tells him that Carver heads this massive drug operation, a suspicion confirmed when he snags a flashy out-of-town dealer named Glen Sexton who agrees, after much legal wrangling, to help catch Carver. But like many of Will's efforts in Haydenville, this plan hits more than its share of snags. Mercer's debut is full of familiar plot elements, but both his prose and his hero are refreshingly honest and direct. Author tour to New York, Los Angeles, Portland, New Jersey