Klavan, Andrew – SHOTGUN ALLEY

[LJ Roberts]

SHOTGUN ALLEY (Private Investigator-San Francisco-Cont) – VG Klavan, Andrew – 2^nd in series
Forge, 2004- Hardcover

A local politician hires the Weiss agency to find his 17-year-old daughter, Honey. He has run off with the head of a violent motorcycle gang and he wants her found and brought back. Scott Weiss sends Jim Bishop in to infiltrate the group but doesn't plan on Bishop's attraction to Honey. A woman who wants to find the person who has been sending her erotic emails hires the agency to find the sender.

Shotgun Alley is dark, violent and filled with profanity. It is also wonderfully written, engrossing and filled with intriguing characters. The writing style is unusual in that there are three protagonists; Weiss and Bishop, whose parts of the story are told in third person and a young narrator, whose name we don't know but whose portion of the story is told in first person. The story is introspective, suspenseful, and expertly crafted. Because of the violence, it's not for everyone, but I highly recommend it for those who like dark, PI novels.