The kid is too young to die. As he looks at the lifeless
face of the previously vibrant, almost seventeen year old,
Raymond Donne ponders what derailed the life of this
promising student he once taught. Douglas (Dougie) Lee's
body has been found in a tennis court near the Williamsburg
Bridge in Brooklyn wearing beads that designated that he
belonged to a gang, but something seemed off about that
picture.
The police are almost ready to write it off as just another
black kid in a drug deal gone bad, but Dougie's mother
doesn't believe that about her only son. As Raymond comes
to offer his condolences to Mrs. Lee, she beseeches him to
find out the truth.
Besides being a teacher, Raymond is the Dean of Students
for a public high school in Brooklyn and a former ex-cop.
While Raymond may have left the police force due to a
physical injury, it is sometimes hard for him to turn off
his "cop brain" and he still has lots of connections on the
force. Ray makes promises not to get involved in police
investigations, but asking a few questions won't hurt, will
they? Maybe a call to a reporter won't hurt either, will
it?
He trusts the detective working the case, but knows how
cops think. Hoping to kickstart something, Raymond decides
to check out some of Dougie's friends. He soon finds some
interesting activities going on in the elite private school
that Dougie has been attending on a scholarship. Raymond
knows he should not get involved, but when another student
gets hurt and one dies, what can he do? But as he probes,
things shift and now Ray may be in danger. What is really
going on?
CROOKED NUMBERS is the second book by Tim O'Mara and the
story has some linkage back to his very well received first
novel Sacrifice Fly. Given the success of that debut book,
CROOKED NUMBERS is sure to be a hit with his fans.
While both books can easily be read with their own
storylines, CROOKED NUMBERS continues to feature Raymond
Donne as the main protagonist and to place his fictional
events in the realistically described Brooklyn/Manhattan
area. In addition to O'Mara's talents at character
development, his descriptions instantly pulls you in to the
story and the action from the crowded apartment of the
grieving mother to Raymond's daily work with students to
his favourite bar to relax in with his friends, and
especially with Edgar, his autistic friend who Ray both
admires for his info technology skills, but who also drives
Ray crazy with his persistent questions.
While a relatively new writer, O'Mara gets top marks for
character development as both main and secondary
characters are well-developed and authentically described.
I found Raymond Donne to be a likable and realistic
character and hope to read more about him in the future.
As a former teacher myself, I appreciate his approach with
how he cares for and deals with the students in his school.
I also like how O'Mara sets up the interactions Raymond has
with the various youths in the story and how he gets them
to talk to him.
Another strength is O'Mara's skill in developing the
storyline, adding in suspense, and how he has Donne pulling
together his information and clues in a very natural style.
Donne is aware of his limitations, both physically as well
as knowing he should not cross the line back and
potentially jeopardizing police work as his uncle and
namesake keeps reminding him. The senior Raymond Donne is
none other than the head of the detectives for the NYCPD.
But, if the need arises and the police can't be there, what
can Raymond do?
When one of Raymond Donne’s former students is found stabbed
to death under the Williamsburg Bridge, Ray draws on his
past as a cop to find the truth in Tim O'Mara’s second New
York mystery.
Raymond Donne’s former student Douglas Lee had everything
going for him thanks to a scholarship to an exclusive
private school in Manhattan, but all of that falls apart
when his body is found below the Williamsburg Bridge with a
dozen knife wounds in it. That kind of violence would
normally get some serious attention from the police and
media except when it's accompanied by signs that it could be
gang related. When that’s the case, the story dies and the
police are happy to settle for the straightforward
explanation. Dougie's mom isn’t having any of that and asks
Ray, who had been a cop before an accident cut his career
short, to look into it, unofficially. He does what he can,
asking questions, doling out information to the press, and
filling in some holes in the investigation, but he doesn’t
get far before one of Dougie’s private school friends is
killed and another is put in the hospital.
What kind of trouble could a couple of sheltered kids get
into that would end like that? And what does is have to do
with Dougie's death? None of it adds up, but there's no way
Ray can just wait around for something to happen.
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