While Rick doesn’t like the idea of being taken, he also doesn’t relish the idea of dragging what’s left of his stuff back to North Dakota. Besides, the job does come with Captain Jack’s modular home and his record collection, and receptionist Traci who, in Rick’s opinion, wears just the right amount of eye shadow and eyeliner.

At Jack’s house, Rick finds a tape of a conversation that includes Clay saying some very incriminating things - things that would very definitely be blackmail material for Captain Jack and that may explain his abrupt disappearance. Feeling restless, Rick decides to don a private eye hat and begins to track down the people mentioned in the tape to find out who had the most to lose by the tape getting aired.

Soon Rick finds himself amid a slew of local characters that are, in his mind, all suspects in Captain Jack’s disappearance. In between energetic evenings with Traci, Rick and Traci begin to investigate what Jack had on each person on the tape. Rick finds that things aren’t quite as quiet in Mississippi as they were when he left many years ago.

Radio Activity starts out at a very fast pace but begins to get bogged down as Rick begins to meet all the various people mentioned on Captain Jack’s tape and begins to learn their stories. None of Rick’s suspects distinguish themselves from any of the others; the other DJ’s at WAOR have very distinct personalities, but aren’t given enough plot time to offset the other characters. Rick has flashes of being an interesting person, but never comes completely into focus as a character. Even if his personality is one of a confused, wandering persona, it does not come through clearly.

While suspects abound, it is pretty clear early on what has been going on, though Rick’s investigation and thought processes are interesting to watch evolve. There is plenty of classic rock trivia and stories behind the songs for the diehard fan, and even casual listeners will find the more esoteric songs and stories interesting.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry