Ticket 2 Ride

Let me start by saying this is the craziest murder mystery I’ve ever read. Seriously. It is truly not what I expected, and of course I kept reading to see how Goldberg was going to bring this book in for a landing.

I discovered Lee Goldberg’s mysteries last year. Always looking for an addition to my reading list, I appreciated his brisk pace and witty style. Goldberg is a bestselling author of more than 30 books, who dabbled in television mysteries.

In Calico (2023, Severn House), Goldberg weaves two separate plot lines as Detective McDade follows two distinct death cases. Goldberg is a terrific police procedural writer, he’s certainly in the class of Michael Connelly.

Beth McDade is a Barstow detective, formerly of the LAPD, where she’s trying to resuscitate her career. Fired from LAPD for sleeping with a subordinate, the only law enforcement gig she could get was with the San Bernardino County Sheriff at the Barstow office. The end of the world career-wise, but a job. McDade is a very capable detective, her current job is not an indication of her talent or accomplishments, just the outcome of a bad professional decision. She’s made a number of bad personal decisions, usually involving men. Drinking also seemed an underlying contributor, but that’s common in the law enforcement field. So is loneliness, difficulty leaving the job at the office and unfortunately, hooking up with other LEOs.

“She’d got off work at five. The drinking started at six, and she’d had her last beer and a chaser around ten. She figured she’d be fine now, as long as she didn’t have to shoot anyone.”

Goldberg’s writing is efficient and there’s no waste, but he manages to put a lot of information on the page. You also get his dry humor and interesting pop-culture injections, particularly in this story.

One of things good writers do is to plant you deep into the story’s locale and what’s significant of that place. For me, it’s required. Places are characters in intriguing stories. Tell me about the geography, history, pertinent social, political and cultural facts, and the vibe and undercurrents. Do people hate living here, is the government corrupt, did the biggest employer leave town, is there a long suppressed town secret? The writer should put the reader there.

Barstow was built on the banks of the Mojave River in the 1800s as a railroad hub for the booming silver and borax mining operations in the desert. In the mid-1900s, the city’s Main Street was a stretch of the legendary Route 66 and was lined with eye-catching motels, hotels, and restaurants that were always packed with travelers. But when the new, much bigger, much faster, eight-lane interstate was built on the outskirts in 1957, Main Street took a bullet in the head and Barstow began its long, rotting decline. Beth felt that living there was like visiting a vast hospice. Or being a patient in one.

I’m not going to reveal the plot, sorry. Normally, I’d offer a few details, but not here. Calico is a solid police procedural read, yet it’s more than that. Much more. For me, it’s the best mystery I’ve read this year.

5/5