REVIEW: ‘Run for Cover’ by Michael Ledwidge
Image courtesy of Hanover Square Press / Provided by official website.
The Michael Gannon mystery series continues in Michael Ledwidge’s novel Run for Cover. His previous effort, Stop at Nothing, introduced readers to the expat who always seems to get into murderous trouble while evading a bunch of bad guys. This time around, he’s lying low in the Utah wilderness, getting off the grid with his son, because the authorities might want to ask a few questions about went down in the Bahamas.
But this being a murder mystery, Gannon can’t keep his head down for too long. A gruesome murder at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, followed by an intense shootout in the wilderness, sends up the Bat signal, and Gannon decides to respond. His motivation is to help his friend who owns the Utah property where he’s holed up. His friend’s brother, a ranger for the National Park Service, was one of the casualties at the shootout, and Gannon wants answers.
What transpires is a multi-state adventure that finds Gannon heading to Wyoming, Colorado and beyond to piece together a sordid affair. His comrade on this journey is FBI agent Kit Hagen, who loses a partner in the shootout and has a personal stake in seeking justice.
Ledwidge is a talented writer who is able to spin a yarn at breakneck pace. The short chapters, never running longer than five pages, fly by with ease, and somehow each of them end with a slight cliffhanger, which drives the reader further and further into the story. Mystery lovers will recognize the writing style because it’s reminiscent of James Patterson, who often collaborates with Ledwidge.
As the chapters progress, one begins to realize the characters and plot are fairly inconsequential. There’s a drive to find out what happened up in Grand Teton, and how there may be a larger conspiracy afoot, but the descriptions and details feel somewhat depth-less.
Gannon, as a character, is interesting, and his skills are obvious in the field. Less known (or perhaps less interesting) is Gannon the person. There’s not much to understand when considering his connection to his son or his friend, and he doesn’t enter into a personal relationship for the balance of the 300-plus pages (although there is some attraction to Hagen).
At times, Hagen comes off as more engaging than Gannon, and that’s because it’s mostly her story. Her motivations far outshine Gannon’s, and the risks seem to be higher for her and her job at the FBI. Readers will likely leave these pages knowing more about her than they do about the trusty protagonist.
There’s no doubt that more Gannon books are on their way, probably on an annual basis — or if Patterson has an influence, on a monthly basis. That’s probably a good thing, only because it will give Ledwidge more time to carve out this mysterious man at the center of the mystery.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Run for Cover by Michael Ledwidge. Hanover Square Press. 379 pages. Click here for more information.
