SUBSTANTIAL JUSTICE

A recently reunited couple navigates the complex aftermath of a murder in Ben-Horin’s debut thriller set in 1985.

After local marijuana grower and controversial community-radio host Yosh Steinmetz is brutally murdered in Ukiah, California, local law enforcement initially think the crime is a drug deal gone bad. However, Yosh rankled many members of the community with his radio show, as he was happy to tackle any local issue and speak out against whomever he saw fit. This includedUkiah’s racist and antisemitic Rev. Footman, who oversees a cabal of White supremacists. Spider Lacey, a Vietnam veteran and car mechanic, discovered Yosh’s bloody corpse, which he surmised was the handiwork of “an army or an automatic weapon”; Spider had just gotten back together with Siobhan,with whom he fell in love 10 years prior. They separated when Siobhan moved to New York City for law school. Now she’s an environmental lawyer investigating a case in Ukiah, and as she and Spider rekindle their relationship, they become entangled in the murder case, which may be connected to political corruption. In this remarkable first novel, Ben-Horin offers adept prose with plenty of moments of humor. For example, when Spider and Siobhan check out an online forum for private investigators, the author describes it as consisting “of a single aspiring P.I. who enjoyed assuming different personas and engaging in coruscating dialogues with himself.” The major characters are all fully realized, down to their small quirks, such as Spider’s love of his video cassette recorder and his distaste for television commercials. The sociopolitical setting is also intricately woven into the story, as when its revealed that the woman who takes over Yosh’s business, Julie Choate, first met him through a network of political activists.

A deftly composed and highly enjoyable crime story.