The police, as one might expect, are close mouthed. All they will release for publication is speculation that the deaths are revenge for a bar holdup. Carter knows better. The four victims seem to have nothing in common. They are a drug dealer, exotic dancer (a euphemism for hooker), hustler, and a mama’s boy. Their backgrounds and interests all but guarantee that they would not have known each other.

Carter, though his prep school, Amherst College upbringing might preclude acquaintance with gangs and street culture, has contacts. He has learned a cardinal rule of reporting: “if you approach others with respect, listen hard, and genuinely try to understand their point of view, they will talk to you, no matter what your viewpoint is.”

Following this rule he discovers that none of the victims were from the neighborhood in which their bodies were found.

Not easily discouraged, Carter uses his resources in the form of Tommy Hernandez, the paper’s gay, Cuban intern, Tina Thompson, the city editor who has recently realized her biological clock is ticking loudly, and Tynesha Dales, a local stripper that is a good friend of one of the victims. Through his own persistence and that of his resources Carter learns that there is a connection between the four victims but this connection puts him squarely in the sights of the perpetrator of the crimes.

Although Faces of the Gone is his first novel, author Brad Parks is a journalist with many years of experience so his references to newspaper reporting are grounded in firsthand knowledge, lending authenticity to his prose. What happens to Carter in his pursuit of his story could really have happened in the manner described. The conversations that take place could have occurred and the emotional response of those people close to the victims seems genuine. A kernel of truth from real life is the genesis of the plot so it is easy to imagine such a tale horrific as it might be.

The tale is not a pretty one, yet that author manages to inject a note of levity through the effective use of dry wit. He describes the club where his Stripper source works as having a smell formed from some combination of male pheromone, beer, and stale sweat which contributed to poisoning the environment but said club did not significantly poison the environment through their overuse of cleaning products.

Parks also makes a legitimate case for the importance of supporting the print media. Media are accused of sensationalizing violent crime in order to sell newspapers. While this is undoubtedly true to some extent, print media may help make sense of a profoundly tragic act by not allowing tragic deaths to go unnoticed.

The story is well presented and logical. It does not require giant leaps of faith or extended willing suspension of disbelief. It is easy to walk in Carter’s shoes and imagine the scenario that unfolds.

The author has clearly done his homework. Mini lessons in gang culture and drug dealing are presented to enhance the reader’s knowledge of what might be unknown worlds. The information is given without bias. Although one might secretly condemn drug dealing or hooking as occupations it is understandable how moral people might end up in such occupations for legitimate reasons or through no fault of their own.

Faces of the Gone is an outstanding debut from an author who writes knowledgeably and well. Hopefully mystery readers will see more from his pen in the not too distant future.

--Andy Plonka