Improbable at time, but intriguing…
Set in 1974, Wise’s crime thriller pits a Marine veteran against a plethora of powerful enemies. Owing to housing market crash, Jamaica Plain, a section of the Southwest Corridor in Boston has been redlined by banks, prompting its transition from a healthy neighborhood to a slum. A series of arson-related incidents in abandoned buildings across the neighborhood inspires the community organizer and Marine combat veteran Jedidiah Flynt to look into the incidences. When Sandy Morgan, a young community worker, is found burned to death while investigating the fire, Jedidiah realizes the seriousness of the situation. To bring the murderers to justice, Jedidiah must unravel a bigger conspiracy while facing a group of crooked politicians, greedy banks, and corrupt clergymen. Redlining and blockbusting are overly familiar scenarios, and the unconvincing plot twists (a series of arson incidents go unnoticed by almost everyone in the neighborhood, blockbusting doesn’t happen) add nothing new. Still Wise shows plenty of promise, and readers who like their crime thrillers loaded with violence and bloodshed will find plenty to like in the book.
Redlined: A novel of Boston
By Richard W. Wise
Brunswick House Press
Pub date June 10, 2020
ISBN 9780972822336
Price $27.10 (USD) hardcover, $16.95 Paperback, $7.59 Kindle edition
