An Author's Guide: The David Mapstone Series

At JonTalton.com, you'll find information about the David Mapstone mystery series, my background as a writer/author and other information.

Cheryl Beth Wilson, a nurse at Cincinnati Memorial Hospital, finds a doctor brutally murdered in a secluded office. She teams up with detective Will Borders, who believes the crime has all the marks of a serial murder.

Deputy sheriff David Mapstone's background as a history professor serves him well when he stumblesquite literallyonto a very cold case in Talton's engaging fifth mystery (after 2006's Arizona Dreams), a prequel set in 1999. One night, after leaving a pro hockey game in Phoenix, Mapstone; his girlfriend, Lindsey Adams; and his boss, Mike Peralta, interrupt a carjacking. They pursue the perp into an abandoned warehouse, where Mapstone falls down an elevator shaft. At the bottom are the bodies of two small children, who turn out to be the Yarnell twins, kidnapped in the 1930s from the most powerful man in the region, cattle baron Hayden Yarnell.

Retired professor David Mapstone once again brings a historian's touch to his job as Phoenix deputy sheriff in Talton's smartly plotted fourth adventure (after 2004's Dry Heat). Nothing appears to link the ice-pick murder of lawyer Alan Cordesman in David's neighborhood with a body in the desert that turns out to be that of landowner Harry Bell. Months later, David starts connecting the dots when Harry's brother, Louis, also turns up with an ice pick through his skull, and David's supposed former student, who originally directed him to the location of the body in the desert, proves to be Dana Earley, wife of Tom Earley, Maricopa county supervisor and chief critic of the sheriff's department, run by David's prickly boss, Mike Peralta.

Deputy sheriff David Mapstone's background as a history professor serves him well when he stumblesquite literallyonto a very cold case in Talton's engaging fifth mystery (after 2006's Arizona Dreams), a prequel set in 1999. One night, after leaving a pro hockey game in Phoenix, Mapstone; his girlfriend, Lindsey Adams; and his boss, Mike Peralta, interrupt a carjacking. They pursue the perp into an abandoned warehouse, where Mapstone falls down an elevator shaft. At the bottom are the bodies of two small children, who turn out to be the Yarnell twins, kidnapped in the 1930s from the most powerful man in the region, cattle baron Hayden Yarnell.

In this clever plot-twister, a bizarre series of actions transforms Deputy David Mapstone, who debuted in Concrete Desert (2001), from mild-mannered historian of the Sheriff's Department of Maricopa County (Ariz.) into acting sheriff. Mapstone, who has returned to law enforcement after a 15-year academic detour, is only inches away when someone shoots his friend and mentor, Mike Peralta, at the reception following Peralta's swearing in as county sheriff. While Peralta lies in a coma, Mapstone takes over a department where he can rely on virtually no one except girlfriend Lindsey Adams, also a sheriff's deputy. An obscure reference to Camelback Falls and a chain of deadly events set Mapstone digging into a 20-year-old case.

In order to make ends meet, David Mapstone teaches history and researches an unsolved, 40-year-old murder case for the Phoenix sheriff's office. Serendipitously, the old murder of the then-governor's niece shows unnerving similarities to the recent disappearance and murder of his college lover's younger sister. Could both murders be the work of the same person? Could the governor's family be involved, or could the murders be attributable to serial murderers?

THE PAIN NURSE is an excellent refreshing investigative thriller starring a detective stuck in bed and his legs”; mindful of Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhymes. The location plays a key part in this thriller as Jon Talton moves from Arizona (the Mapstone mysteries) to an Ohio hospital. Readers will feel empathy pain as Borders’ aches are that descriptive; on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being hurting at Mt. Everest levels, he is a 12. However, it is the recuperating patient and his pain nurse who team up as an unlikely investigative duet searching for a killer.

Set in Cincinnati, The Pain Nurse is a well-crafted, well-paced mystery. Readers who have spent any time in a hospital, especially following major surgery, will appreciate the realism and detail depicted here. Even better are the characters of Will Borders and Cheryl Beth Wilson whose relationship, though based on mutual need, seems genuine and sincere. The Pain Nurse is a captivating story and a terrific introduction to this series; it is highly recommended.

Each day, I author a blog at the Times about important economic news, trends and issues involving Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

Excerpt:

"The reality: We committed journalistic malpractice on a grand scale.

We wrote glowing accounts of the heroic masters of the universe, epitomized by endless reverential profiles of the likes of Jack Welch of General Electric, and, until the roof fell in, Ken Lay of Enron. We asked far too few questions about derivatives and risky changes to the banking system, instead following mergers and slick new securities like star-struck sportswriters. We helped pimp the stock market as working Americans were giving up their pensions and embarking on a risky and now ruinous experiment. Too few of us comprehended the essential dangerous unsustainability of the economy since 1982 and even fewer tried to get the word out."

Excerpt: "Most advanced nations have extensive, modern rail systems, including high-speed trains, to supplement their air and highway transportation modes. They have extentive subways, commuter rail and light-rail. And theyre building more. Spain, for example, has invested heavily in high-speed rail and is expanding its network. The service is fast, clean, safe and environmentally sound. Especially between certain city pairs, the high-speed and fast trains have pretty much taken over the business. Overall, theyre faster than the ordeal of flying. This is what a 21st-century transportation system looks like: multi-modal, plenty of choices and investments geared toward environmentally friendly rail and mass transit."