Pecan Gap: A Jake Somers Mystery

By: Don Castle
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publishing Date: October 2010
ISBN: 978-1-45372671-6
Reviewed by: Mary Lignor
Review Date: August 2011

What a great read, from a new author, two mysteries in one story. This is not the first time that this has occurred, of course, but nonetheless an excellent premise. Remembering the old movie Jerry McGuire and the line "You had me at Hello," the author has given readers a "hook" in the prologue when he wrote about the "givers." A great beginning!

First of all, readers will meet Jake Somers, an ex-Dallas policeman who now has his own private investigating business. His home base is in Dallas but he was born and raised in a small Texas town called Pecan Gap. Jake has a good life, supported by his mom, his girlfriend, who works in the Dallas DA's office and his co-workers. Starting in Dallas, Jake and Company are knee deep in an investigation that is after a local Councilman, John Williams, who owns many flower shops and is associated with a mobster by the name of Charlie "Big Mac" McIntyre. These two are deep in the heroin business using the flower shops as cover as most of the flowers are shipped from Columbia, along with drugs. A murder of one of Jake's employees and, a near miss at Jake and his mother keep Jake busy as he tries to find out what's going on before it's too late. Murders of close friends and the near murder of himself and his mom keep Jake on edge as he desperately tries to find the keys that will unlock what is going on, and stop the madness he is living in, before it is too late.

Jake is also pulled into a mystery that is happening in his home town of Pecan Gap. It seems that many people, over the years, have disappeared from the town. If they didn't have cars they had to take a train out of town and when they did they never came back. A stray dog is seen running down the street with a human bone in his mouth and old letters are found that talk about all the disappearances. The mystery seems to center around the town railroad station. Jake remembers something that happened when he was a boy and knows that there is evil in Pecan Gap and with the help of the local Sheriff, it's all coming together. The author does a wonderful job at keeping Jake and his cohorts in the middle of both cases. The characters are believeable and you will like the way family and friends gather around Jake in Pecan Gap and Dallas.

Quill Says: Great characters and story lines by a new author. Mr. Castle worked previously in the advertising business but is now using writing and storytelling to further his creative abilities. Good Work!!

For more information on Pecan Gap: A Jake Somers Mystery, please visit the author's website at: www.authordoncastle.com