3 out of 4 stars
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Detective Shanisha ‘Shane’ Notfarg, a fifty-one-year-old Afro-American, is assigned to look into the disappearance of a real estate agent, Arthur Flynn. According to his neighbors, he had gone on a fishing trip, and no one had heard from him since. He was a good man, had a decent job and an active social life. He didn’t have any reason to leave this good life behind. It means something had happened on the fishing trip. As Shane moves further into the investigation, she gets to know more about Flynn, but nothing provides a substantial lead. Soon, she finds his car, abandoned at a place far from his last known destination, and his blood in the trunk. Still, the question remains. What happened to Flynn? Shane becomes increasingly invested in his disappearance. The investigation takes her from solving a murder mystery to catching money launderers. Every time she gets close to cracking the puzzle, a new development points her towards an entirely different direction. When the answers are, finally, revealed, they are not what she had expected.
What Happened to Flynn by Pat Muir is exactly what the title suggests. Written from the perspective of Shane Notfarg, it takes us on a roller-coaster ride that lands us at an entirely unexpected climax. The writing is simple but not mundane. It makes the story easier to read. The investigation gives us a glimpse of the processes that take place in various departments, their hierarchy order, how these departments collaborate to solve cases, etc. The thought process of the police doesn’t seem Sherlockian, which makes the characters and the conditions more relatable.
The characters of the story are one of the best things about it. In the form of Shane, we get a strong, intelligent detective who is pretty clear about the way things are. Even though she is an idealist, she knows when it becomes impractical. Since we see other characters through her eyes, bias and subjectivity are highly probable. However, the author has portrayed Shane in such a way that we get a true account of everyone, regardless of what she thinks about them. For example, she might be jealous of someone, but she will not refrain from accepting the good qualities of that person.
The prejudice in her decision-making process also acts as a veil that keeps us on edge. We like Shane, and we trust her, but sometimes, we aren’t sure about her judgments. It is another thing that I liked about the story. Shane seems sure about her deductions. She holds her ground about the conclusions she pulls out from the facts that lie in front of her. However, a possibility remains that she might be wrong. The writer has managed to create a balanced conflict by telling who she thinks the perpetrator is, and the story moves forward probing the accuracy of her decisions. The question keeps repeating itself: is she right, or is she wrong? This approach of storytelling was very effective in creating the necessary tone for the case.
Apart from the main theme of finding Flynn, the book also tackles other relevant subjects, like racism and sexism. Even though Shane is equally (if not more) as talented as her colleagues, still, she has to, constantly, prove her worth. While it acts as a driving force for her, it also allows her to feel a great sense of pride in herself.
Amidst all the good things, there are a few aspects of the novel that make it faulty. In the beginning, the writing, and the story are a bit slack. Though it isn't bad, it isn't exciting enough, either. You feel impassive towards all the developments. Later, when the plot has evolved a bit, some thrill is induced in the story. After a quarter, it picks the pace and everything moves quickly. Also, somewhere in between, we begin to believe that the case has wavered from its main purpose, i.e., finding Flynn. The central issue seems lost in all the mess, but perhaps, this is what makes the story more realistic. There is a line I remember from another book. “You never know where a case will take you.” Thus, the route taken by the investigation might seem bizarre, but it is what lends more authenticity to the story.
My rating for What Happened to Flynn is 3 out of 4 stars. It was a good read. A lower rating would be unfair to this intelligently drawn-out story. Irregular fonts and a few grammatical mistakes lead me to deduct a point from it. People who like reading books of crime and mystery genre will like it. It is different from its counterparts. The book has been aptly named as the main question, about Flynn’s fate, lingers throughout the story. The author has neatly tied up every loose end and has brought the story to an effective conclusion. Stay vigilant for signs, if you don’t want to feel left out.
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What Happened To Flynn
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