Book Review: Wiley's Lament

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Wiley's Lament     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Lono Waiwaiole
Class/Genre:   Mystery
St. Martin’s, Mar 2003, $24.95, 320 pp.

Working with the FBI, Fernando guts a hooker in the Evergreen Motel, a cheap joint near the Portland, Oregon Airport. To clean up his trail, Fernando kills a few other people who can associate him with the victim.

Her father Wiley, who even before his daughter’s murder, did not care whether he lived or died (all one has to do is ask the drug dealers he mugs in Seattle for a living) identifies the victim as Lizzie. He knows the overworked police will try to solve the homicide, but that is not good enough for him. Though he has not talked with his estranged daughter in over a year, Wiley sees vengeance as a chance to somewhat atone for being a lousy dad. The underground sex industry quickly knows to beware because Wiley will stomp on anyone who fails to point him towards the killer of his child.

The attitudes of the antihero Wiley, the killer Fernando, the FBI agent Avina, and the other agents make this investigative crime thriller into a winner. The story line is exciting from the moment Wiley places a gun in the ear of a drug dealer until the climax when High Noon occurs between the two lead characters. Those readers who relish an offbeat electrifyingly wild ride filled with testosterone (even from the female Avina) will want to obtain WILEY’S LAMENT.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner