Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker

It’s been thirty years since I read a T. Jefferson Parker novel. The several I read in the 90’s, I thought were fantastic. Where Serpents Lie was partially influential in my writing the One-Armed Detective series. This new novel of his is a great read. It’s a police procedure mystery, which features justice. I went to the signing for this here in Phoenix, and Mr. Parker said this is not a series. Which is too bad. Strong characters in this book. It seemed Lew Gale, the protagonist, was heading toward redemption as was his new partner, Daniela Mendez. Gale and Mendez work for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The book opens with the death of a rich real estate developer who was trying to build an entire town on a large parcel of land in near San Juan Capistrano. The death looks like the work of a mountain lion. Lew Gale has tracking skills in his toolbox and is asked to find the mountain lion. The inside cover tells us it was not the lion that killed Bennet Tarlow III. That’s about all the plot I’m going into. The mystery is multi-layered and kept me guessing to the end.

There are many interesting facets to this novel. First, Lew Gale is half Native American and half Spanish. Ironic because it was the Spanish that indoctrinated the natives in that area. Parker goes into the history of that section of California and the Acjacheme people. There is political intrigue around the building project. And Ms. Mendez has a unique backstory. She’s a single mother, but the fatherhood of her only son has a surprise twist. Even the bad guys have interesting backgrounds that figure into the mystery.

Parker’s writing is superb. I’m a huge fan of his style. Though, I found the use of present tense surprising. I don’t remember the other books I read if he used the same tense. I think present tense is all the rage these days. It didn’t bother me, though I tend to prefer it with high-intensity stories. This mystery is not high intensity, but more slow moving and deeper than typical thrillers.

There is some profanity. No on page sex, just some suggestive scenes, which are in themselves interesting. And the violence is not gratuitous or over-the-top. One of the best crime fiction novels I’ve read this year. Overall, I’ll rank it eighth.

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