I picked this book because it is set in Richmond, VA. Noir mystery is definitely not my usual genre, but I found this book plenty enjoyable. I am only so so at following mystery plots, I get lost in people's names sometimes, but the authors mentions of local spots kept me interested and made this extra fun to read. One final note: Its a real "dad book" and some of the descriptions of those newfangled politically correct ideas were eye-rollers, but I prevailed. ( )

Oregon Hill is a suburb of Richmond. Not fancy. Newspaper reporter, Willy Black, is partly black. married several times and he is a mess. He has been working on this case involving the murder and decapitation of a college girl. The police were very quick to indict a lover of the girl. This made Willy suspicious. Willy is a funny guy with a lot of problems. ( )

As Oregon Hill by Howard Owen begins, Will is back on the night cop’s beat. He is luck he still has a job at the Richmond newspaper where he has worked for many years. Lucky to have a job and not just because of the status of the newspaper industry as a whole. He is lucky to have a job because his own personal behavior has been pretty rocky in recent years on and off the job. Mixed race with a serious drinking problem, a history of divorce, and a daughter, Andi, who is at the local college with little direction in her life, Willie Black, is a newspaper reporter trying to keep a job in a dying industry. He is very much on old school reporter knowing he is one corporate mandated layoff away from being homeless and without a job. In short, he is as close to rock bottom as he can get, without actually hitting rock bottom.

Isabel Ducharme also attended classes at Virginia Commonwealth University. Andi did not know her directly, but she sort of knew of her through friends. She went to school there until somebody killed her and put her headless body into the South Anna River. It might have gone away with no one the wiser if not for the body getting snagged on a tree branch in the river.

It takes the cops two days to identify the killer who also confesses very quickly. Martin Fell is in police custody and he very well may have done the horrible crime. He is known to have spent time with Isabel in prior weeks and there are witnesses that state they were together and arguing the night she was murdered. He also confessed.

Willie Black thinks it is all wrapped up, but then an ex-wife of his, Kate, who is a successful attorney about to make partner at her firm takes on Mr. Fell’s case. He begins to learn things that indicate Mr. Fell may not have done it. He begins to pursue the idea that Mr. Fell is innocent and that puts him at odds with his newspaper bosses, the police, and just about everyone he knows.

Oregon Hill by Howard Owen is a very good and complicated start to this series featuring Willie Black. Along with the main complicated mystery, there are several secondary storylines featuring the complicated relationships he has with his mother and the current man in her life, his daughter, and various other folks. These secondary storylines are in as much rich detail as the primary storyline, making the nearly 240 page read a meaty one with plenty to work through as the pages pass. Through it all, the main mystery remains in focus to power much of the action forward.

Willie Black is a bit cynical, a bit sarcastic, and at all times a realist regarding everything around him. He sees the windmills, tilts at one or two anyway while being very self aware as to what he is doing, and keeps going forward through his days and nights as best as he can. You can’t ask for much more than that.

Oregon Hill by Howard Owen is highly recommended.

Oregon Hill
Howard Owen
http://www.howardowenbooks.com
The Permanent Press
http://www.thepermanentpress.com
ISBN# 978-1-57962-208-4
Hardback (also available in audio, digital, and paper formats)
241 Pages

Material was received and read by way of the Interlibrary Loan Program where a copy owned by the Houston Public Library System was shared with the Dallas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019 ( )

A dark, funny, caustic, well-written story about crime and the news business. ( )

I received this as a first reads winner. I enjoyed this book. The story takes place over a short period of time. Willie, who is a newspaper reporter, works to uncover who really killed the girl when he doesn't believe who the police has in custody is the real killer. There are some twist and turns and Willie is keeping the truth from certain people in his life and the author is also keeping the truth from the readers until the last minute. I didn't put two and two together until the Willie was hearing the story unfold by the killer. You pretty much know who the killer is but you don't know why until the very end and then it was like Oh, I get it now. I would recommend this book. It's a good read, great descriptions that you knew who the people were. It seemed to be very effortless writing. Entertaining. ( )