Title: Tune Up
Subtitle: The Secrets of Mylin – Book 1
Author: Joe Klingler
Publisher: Cartosi LLC
ISBN: 978-1941156063
Pages: 470
Genre: Fiction / Crime
Reviewed by: Dave Bishop
Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit
Lovers of good crime fiction are in for a treat with Joe Klingler’s latest stroll on the shady side of the law entitled Tune Up. It’s a high-octane exercise in suspense and skullduggery that will have you turning pages at fever pitch. The best crime writing pulls you into situations that peak your interest without assuaging your appetite for answers too soon. That’s exactly what Klingler does as he tells one story from two distinctly different points of view. When they finally intersect in a crazy climax worthy of its environment, you’ll likely be just as frenetic as the iconoclastic inhabitants of one of the world’s wackiest rituals where the dénouement goes down.
The initial take on this tale is written in the first person from a photographer who snaps his pictures covertly. Candid, uninhibited behavior is what he’s after—magic moments full of potential story appeal. Then he blows up his photos and takes them on the road to various art shows around the country. Imagine what might happen should he actually meet one of his subjects in the flesh. In this yarn he does. It’s a beautiful young Chinese woman named Mylin. The photographer was already obsessed with her photo. When they come face to face he’s absolutely smitten. The hooks of desire are in deep and they’re about to take him way out of his element and into a world of mayhem, murder, and more.
While the events above are unfolding, what first appeared to be an accident involving an elderly Chinese pedestrian and a motorcyclist in San Francisco quickly accelerates into something that just might be attempted murder. Homicide detectives Kandy and Oigiq, on loan to the traffic division, are ordered to look into it. Oigiq is actually a visiting officer from Alaska who’s especially into bikes. Kandy is a kickass female cop who’s into making sure bad guys get what they deserve. While they’re enmeshed in the aforementioned case, they’re also pulled into a missing person’s investigation. It winds up being connected to the injured pedestrian, the biker who bumped her, the gorgeous Mylin from the photographer’s photo, and a coterie of criminal types whose agendas are on a collision path.
Space does not allow getting deeper into the plot, and frankly to do so would take away the fun of navigating Klingler’s maze of malevolent motives that eventually wind up unraveling spectacularly at The Burning Man Festival.
This is an accomplished author confident in his abilities and exercising them well. His narrative is credible. His pace is fast but never seems forced. His characters are finely etched and full of life. His depictions of place, time, and milieu, become word holograms on the page. Plus his dialogue crackles with the cadence of real conversation. In short, Joe Klingler’s finely tuned writing engine is humming on all cylinders. If I were a red-blooded aficionado of action, crime, and suspense, I’d definitely make an appointment for this Tune Up.
