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Let me make it official: it is once again fun to hunt through the paperback racks. There are suddenly a great number of original paperback novels to be found, purchased, and read. One of the leaders of this charge is John Ramsey Miller, whose Winter Massey books have been appearing with welcome frequency over the past several months. Fortunately, for both his character and prospective readers, Miller's quantity is matched by his quality; his characters evolve and grow with each novel, as do their situations, so there is no mistaking one Massey work of fiction for another.
SIDE BY SIDE is the third of these novels; as with its predecessors, UPSIDE DOWN and INSIDE OUT, SIDE BY SIDE is a stand-alone work that does not require familiarity with the characters for full enjoyment. It is sufficient to know at this stage that Massey is a retired U.S. Marshal who is looking forward to a long stretch of nothing, relaxing with his wife and their infant daughter.
Massey is reluctantly brought back into the life when longtime friend and FBI agent Alexa Keen suddenly appears on his doorstep, asking for his assistance with an off-the-books mission. The mission, literally, is a life-or-death one. Lucy Dockery and Eli, her infant son, have been kidnapped and are being used as pawns in a murder trial. Lucy's father, federal judge Hailey Fondren, is presiding over the trial of Hunter Bryce, a clandestine arms dealer who is accused of murdering a federal agent. Fondren's choice is simple: find Bryce not guilty, and Fondren's daughter and grandson will be released. Of course, it's not really that simple, as the bad guys plan to murder Fondren and the Dockerys. The kidnappers are the Smoots, a family with deep-rooted membership in the Dixie Mafia who are as dangerous and ruthless as any adversary Massey has ever encountered.
Massey is an expert in the way the world works and is willing to do whatever it takes to save innocent lives. He accordingly is somewhat puzzled when Keen, a longtime friend, seems to be hamstringing him every step of the way. Worse, someone seems to know Massey's every move, and as a result he finds that he is always on the verge of walking into an ambush. Massey slowly comes to release that he cannot trust the very people who are supposed to be helping him and that he must rely totally on his instincts, training, and experience to save not only the Dockerys, but also himself.
Those who have read the first two Massey novels will note that SIDE BY SIDE is a more localized work than its predecessors. It is set against the backdrop of rural South Carolina, and the change in scenery, as well as Massey's newfound retirement, gives his ability to go it alone a chance to really shine. Miller has also created an extremely interesting set of villains. The Smoot family, collectively, is the perfect enemy, seemingly indestructible while carrying the seeds of their potential defeat within them. Massey, for his part, remains innovatively clever and as reluctantly dangerous as ever, creating a subtle tension throughout the novel.
As always Miller's narrative is first-rate. He spends the first part of SIDE BY SIDE setting up his interesting, complex characters in a straightforward plot line and then spends the last half of this fine novel gleefully deconstructing things while keeping his readers guessing until the very end. And if you're hooked on Miller, like most readers who have encountered his work, never fear: more is on the way.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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