A DEAD MAN SPEAKS (A CLIVE JANUARY MYSTERY BOOK 1) by LISA JONES GENTRY – Review by Francis O’Sullivan

A Dead Man Speaks by Lisa Jones Gentry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Dead Man Speaks is the first book in Lisa Jones Gentry’s Clive January Mystery series. The premise of the book is that the deceased Mr January can’t rest until his murder is solved and is able to communicate with Detective Bob Greene to help him. Which should really make the case easier for Greene except that what he gets from January are a series of powerful memories from throughout his life which send him chasing up all kinds of leads which may or may not have anything to do with January’s death.
The story takes a while to get going. For the first twelve chapters it feels like January’s life is flashing slowly before his eyes. This gives us a fair bit of backstory which is useful later on, but I think interspersing this with aspects of the murder investigation would have given the story a more momentum. It is worth persevering, though, as it is an interesting story and the pace and tension do pick up later in the book.
Detective Greene is a complicated character. He testified against a partner who murdered a black teenager but did nothing in the moment to stop his partner. This means that pretty much everybody dislikes him, and his apparently confused morals make it hard for the reader to warm to him. He is persistent, though, and determined to find justice for January.
For me, this is a four-star book. It requires a fair bit of attention and patience but rewards you with an intriguing, tangled mystery with plenty of twists and surprises. I’d recommend it to mystery fans who are interested in ghosts and the paranormal. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!

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