Harlan

by Frank Roderus

Leisure, November 2009

Harlan Breen may be a robber, but he’d never kill anyone. Harlan Jarrett, on the other hand, has no problem with murder, but no one knows about that yet. So when a dying woman lives just long enough to identify her killer as “Harlan,” well, it’s only natural they’d arrest Harlan Breen. Breen knows he’s innocent, but he also knows he’ll swing for sure if he can’t break out of prison and find the real murderer before they lead him up those gallows steps.

Having read many books by Frank Roderus, but always written under pseudonyms, I was looking forward to reading this, my first under his own name. From the opening paragraph I was hooked, and as the story developed so did my curiosity as to the outcome.

There are many gruesome deaths throughout but Frank Roderus doesn’t describe them during the actual killings, instead he tells of these horrors through the eyes of those who are unfortunate enough to discover the bodies.

Harlan Breen and Harlan Jarrett are very different characters and the book switches regularly through series' of chapters about both of them, and, at times, other people. It’s Breen who Frank Roderus writes about the most. The fear Breen has for being arrested for the killings he didn’t commit comes across well as he attempts to track down Jarrett and clear his own name. Frank Roderus also includes many light-hearted moments that balance the overall dark theme of the book.

Frank Roderus writes in a smooth flowing style that moves the story forward at rapid pace. Frank’s chapters, mostly, are very short. His descriptions are visual and his dialogue natural.

If you’re a fan of Frank Roderus then this book is a must have, and if you’ve always wanted to try one of his books then this would definitely be a good starting point.

Harlan has a publication date of November 1st, but is available now from the usual Internet booksellers.