Death Overdue
Thriller Thursday Book Chat
Sept. 17, 2020
Roger is chatting about a mystery that takes place in Milwaukee during the 1940s entitled Death Overdue by David S. Pederson. To learn more about Roger and to read his book reviews, visit his book review blog at: https://rogersreads.com
July 24, 2020 by Maryann on QueeRomance Ink.
David S. Pederson never disappoints when it comes to twisted and suspenseful mysteries from the series “A Detective Heath Barrington Mystery”. In “Death Overdue” he presents a different side to Heath Barrington.
Heath Barrington, the by-the-book, sharp as a tack, detective is falling apart. Something that just isn’t in his nature. But when he’s blackmailed by a very dangerous low-life his world is taken for a spin. The blackmailer will not only destroy Heath, his cousin Liz Valentine, but also, Alan Keyes and Heath can’t let that happen.
Because Heath is a possible suspect he’s been warned not to interfere with the case being handled by Detective Alvin Green. But one small note that could destroy him and Allan gives Heath no choice but to find the guilty party. Police Officer Alan Keyes has been special to Heath for a long time. When Alan learns of Heath’s fears about the murder of the blackmailer he knows he has no qualms about helping Heath.
David S. Pederson does an amazing job showing a different side to Heath Barrington. Heath is always confident and aware of everything around him, now he struggles with lost time. With the loss of time and not remembering, Heath has to stay focused as he traces his steps very meticulously. His emotions and fear is very clear as he knows the punishment that could befall him and Alan Keyes if their relationship is revealed. This also brings out how much Heath cares for Allan and the concern he has for his cousin Liz.
This story also opens up views and opinions about: laws that concern spousal abuse, self-defense, accomplices and accessory to crimes of murder and the intolerance and misconception and hurt that presents itself with being gay.
There’s an interesting bond between three women: Alice Crow, wife of the deceased Larry Crow, librarian Evelyn Caldwell and Agnes Picking, widower.
On the shady side is: Larry Crow, blackmailer, scammer and abusive husband. Melvin “Vinnie the Horse” Horshauer, loan shark, gangster and grocery store owner, Ossip Jarvis.
I follow several different mystery series from different time periods and “A Detective Heath Barrington Mystery” is my favorite historical series. Pederson knows how to bring the era to life, with his colorful descriptions of dress, places, phrases and music of Milwaukee in 1947. Pederson also provides interesting facts and ideas that help develop this story with “Mystery History”.
I highly recommend “A Detective Heath Barrington Mystery” series, and “Death Overdue” in particular is suspenseful and an absolute page-turner. Pederson has a book six in the works – “Death’s Prelude”. But unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for 2021 to read it.
July 14, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen
I was so excited when this book came to my attention, given that it takes place in Milwaukee, my hometown. The story takes place in the 1940s and follows police detective Heath Barrington, who is having a clandestine affair with another police officer, Alan Keyes. Given that being gay during this time period could lead to arrest, being institutionalized, and certainly fired from one’s job (especially if you’re a police officer!), it’s essential that the two men keep their relationship a secret.
So when Heath receives a note that says, “I know what you are,” his world crumbles. As it turns out, a low-life named Larry Crowe, a janitor as the police station, is blackmailing him to the tune of $500, or else he will tell everyone about Heath and Alan’s secret. After Heath meets with Larry, Heath, after having consumed several double-martinis at a local bar, decides to return to Larry’s apartment, perhaps to further negotiate with him. Heath’s not sure because he doesn’t remember anything after having left the bar — which is unfortunate because Larry was found murdered later that afternoon. Heath then becomes the prime suspect in Larry’s murder. And the kicker is that he’s not even certain of his own innocence given that the events of that afternoon for Heath are a complete blank and it’s not inconceivable that in his drunken state, he returned back to Larry’s apartment and killed him given that Larry was threatening him with utter ruin.
So even though it’s against the rules and could land Heath in some significant hot water, he, along with Alan, decides to investigate the crime and attempt to discover what really happened that afternoon. Luckily for Heath, he’s not the only suspect. We also have Heath’s cousin Liz who was married to the blackmailer, a dangerous gangster known as Vinnie the Horse, and Miss Caldwell, the local librarian who seems to be sweet on Larry’s current wife, Alice.
I loved the underlying tension throughout the story as we, along with Heath and Alan, journeyed to discover whether Heath did, in fact, kill Larry Crowe. The suspense is taut, but there is an emotional element at play here, and the story expertly portrayed the difficulties that gay people faced during this time period and how they always had to be extremely careful of what they said or how they acted, lest they find themselves in a whole heap of hot water. In this way, the author does a phenomenal job of portraying the atmosphere of a 1940s Milwaukee as well as illustrating the danger in being outed and how quickly it could quickly destroy lives, all of which really brought the story to life for me.
Additionally, the book explores some very real concerns about spousal abuse, intolerance, regret, secrets, and discrimination, and my heart broke in so several places as it was quite a traumatic roller coaster of a ride. I was overwhelmed with the deep impact portions of this story produced on me.
It was still a lot of fun to unravel the mystery of what happened to Larry Crowe, and what we end up with then is a twisted and suspenseful little mystery that entangles secrets, identity, and murder. Death Overdue is a masterful historical fiction set in the late 1940s that illuminates the very real issues of discrimination and intolerance. Moreover, it’s a well-written, lovely, eloquent, and engaging story with a twisty little mystery to solve. I definitely plan on picking up more books by this author.
July 2020 by Mystery Scene Magazine
Set in 1947, David S. Pederson’s fifth Heath Barrington novel, Death Overdue, begins with the Milwaukee police detective receiving a threatening letter from the precinct’s janitor—his cousin Liz’s abusive and apparently vindictive ex-husband, Lawrence Crow—claiming to “know about” Heath and his boyfriend, beat cop Alan Keyes. When Heath shows up at Larry’s apartment to discuss the situation, Larry reveals that, while emptying the trash, he discovered a love note addressed to Alan from Heath. Unless Heath gives Larry $500 by noon tomorrow, Larry will out the men, placing both at risk of unemployment—if not also institutionalization and lobotomization. Distraught, Heath heads to a nearby bar, where he drinks himself into oblivion. The next morning, he wakes to news of Larry’s murder and panics: not only does he have no memory of the previous evening, but his shirt is stained with someone else’s blood. Worse, when he arrives at work, the chief demands to know why Heath’s name appears in a ledger found at the crime scene. Heath deflects, but knows that if his coworkers find Larry’s stash of blackmail material before Heath can figure out what happened, it won’t matter whether he actually killed Larry or not. Deftly drawn characters, brisk pacing, and an easy charm distinguish Pederson’s winning follow-up to 2019’s Death Takes a Bow. Pederson successfully evokes and shrewdly capitalizes upon the time in which his mystery takes place, using the era’s prejudices and politics to heighten the story’s stakes and more thoroughly invest readers in its outcome. Plausible suspects, persuasive red herrings, and cleverly placed clues keep the pages frantically flipping until the book’s gratifying close.
Katrina Niidas Holm