This isn't the first book I've read about an Elvis
impersonator, but a policeman dressed as Elvis? In the
second of the Darla Cavannah Mystery series, a lady from
Philadelphia is now working in the Mississippi Bureau of
Investigation. OFFICER ELVIS, otherwise known as newly
promoted Detective Tommy Reylander, meets an untimely end.
Cue a lively investigation.
Darla is an interesting character. When widowed, she met and
married a doctor and clinic director in Mississippi, so
even though some backward people call her a darn Yankee,
she isn't going to move. She is also a hate crime
specialist and a fine detective. Darla has to put up with
some grotesque semi-humour which is inevitable when a man
meets his maker dressed as Elvis after giving a concert in
an old folks' home. But she's keen to know who had a motive
and means to carry out the crime.
This setting is determinedly up to the minute, with
ubiquitous cellphones, social sites and laptops besides
current social issues. Darla is required to visit not only
an alleged meth cooker, but the office which handles
booking for Elvis impersonators. The varied people are the
centrepoint of this case, from the generous to the bizarre,
and Darla even takes a guided tour of Graceland. I enjoyed
Darla's chats with her new partner Rita, a local lady who
gets all the dates a police officer could ask for online.
However, it turns out that someone very nasty indeed is
prowling, and it will take the combined police department
to pin him down.
The first in this series is called 'The Last Clinic'. Gary
Gusick is a former advertising executive who lives in
Mississippi and New Orleans. He seems to be enjoying
bringing the southern landscape, music and charm to life
for his readers. I don't know whether to recommend this
book to those who adore the Elvis legend, or not. I would
call it an adult crime story. OFFICER ELVIS is an
excellent idea, well written, and I'll be interested to see
what happens next in this atmospheric series.
In the vein of Harlan Coben and Lisa Gardner, Gary Gusick
takes readers on an explosive ride-along with Mississippi
detective Darla Cavannah, a Yankee transplant making her
name in the Deep South.
After performing at a local old-folks home, off-duty police
officer and part-time Elvis impersonator Tommy Reylander
smoothes out his pompadour, climbs into his pink Caddy, and
gets all shook up—fatally so, when a bomb explodes. Whether
he was killed for his police work or bad singing is a
mystery that detective Darla Cavannah is determined to solve.
Though it’s been several years since Darla (reluctantly)
partnered up with Tommy, she convinces her boss to let her
lead the murder investigation. As the new regional director
of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Shelby Mitchell
can think of better uses for his star detective’s time, but
not even the most hardened good ole boy can resist Darla’s
smart, savvy persuasions. She soon embarks on a roller
coaster ride through the world of Elvis tribute artists
while tracking down one of the most bizarre serial killers
in the history of the Magnolia State. Aiding her pursuit of
the killer is recently reprimanded officer Rita Gibbons,
fresh from the trailer park and described by Shelby as “half
a licorice stick short in the manners department.” But
Rita’s plenty smart, even when this case takes their
suspicious minds in an entirely unexpected direction.
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