A Long Way Down by Randall Silvis is a perplexing mystery. Although this newest release is the third installment in the Ryan DeMarco Mystery series, it can be read as a standalone (but I do recommend books one and two as well).

During a visit to his long estranged wife, Laraine, Ryan DeMarco runs into his old high school buddy and current Sheriff Ben Brinker. After hearing about a series of recent murders that bear an eerie resemblance to still unsolved cases from 1988 and the 1930s, Ryan agrees to help with their investigation. With his girlfriend and private investigator partner Jayme Matson by his side, Ryan battles troubling memories while the duo try to find the killer.

Ryan is still a bit brooding and uncommunicative about his emotional wounds. Returning home is not as easy he thinks it will be and he is besieged by long ago memories that are rather dark. Shaking off his somewhat grim mood, Ryan is soon embroiled in trying to figure out who murdered Jerome Hufford, Justin Brenner and college student Samantha Lewis. Ryan is certain there is no connection to the previous unsolved cases despite the similarities so they exclusively work on the current murders.

Jayme is frustrated by Ryan's lack of communication but she tries to remain patient with him. She is hoping to move their relationship in a new direction but she is unsure of Ryan's reaction to her suggestion. Jayme is troubled by Ryan's dark moods but she is hopeful he will confide in her about what is troubling him. But personal issues take a backseat to their investigation into the three current murders.

Jayme and Ryan decide their best chance in catching the murdered is to concentrate on the victim whose murder is a bit of an outlier. Certain aspects of the murder are quite different than the others and their research leads them to a popular college professor. There is something about the arrogant professor that raises both Jayme and Ryan's suspicions, but will they unearth a connection between him and the other two victims?

In their downtime, Jayme and Ryan are both quite contemplative as they sort through Ryan's murdered author friend Thomas Huston's unpublished writings. Huston's mother has requested his assistance in selecting additions for an upcoming publication. Will Ryan come to terms with his emotional baggage as he reads his friend's wise words?

A Long Way Down is a cleverly written and engrossing mystery. Ryan is still a work in progress as he attempts to come to terms with his troubled past. Jayme is optimistic their relationship will survive the emotional battering from Ryan's tumultuous past but will he be able to fully embrace the changes she is hoping for? Their investigation into the three murders is quite interesting and moves a slow but realistic pace as they track down clues and follow leads. With a very shocking twist, Randall Silvis brings this suspenseful mystery to an action-packed, poignant conclusion. With one thread left dangling, readers will be anxiously awaiting the next installment in the Ryan DeMarco Mystery series. ( )

Ugh. No more for me.

Going into this third in the series, I could barely remember the first two. Actually none of the first and a little of the second and that was only because Ryan and Jayme had boxes of the dead author’s tortured writings. Torture for me to read. Skipped them after a while.

And I also skipped all of Ryan’s emotional twisting in the wind, Jayme’s puzzled reaction to his instability and her need to breed. All of it tedious and too ickily domestic for me. Kenzie and Genarro they are not. The solution to the crime was interesting if not earth shattering. Various male villains were cartoonish and made me roll my eyes.

We’re done. ( )

A Long Way Down
Ryan DeMarco #3

A beautifully written complex and intricately layered story

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
In the third book of the Ryan Demarco mystery series Demarco returns to Erie, Pennsylvania after his estranged wife attempted suicide. While there Demarco runs into an old high school buddy, Ben Brinker who is a county sheriff. Brinker asks for Demarco’s help investigating three recent homicides in their hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. These murders might be related to a cold case from thirty years ago, where the victims were dismembered. All but one of the recent victims fit the profile.

Jayme Matson, a Pennsylvania state trooper has taken time away from her job to spend some quality time with Demarco figuring out their new relationship. Demarco is still struggling with his past and doesn’t really want to go back to his hometown. Jayme, however, is anxious to see Demarco’s childhood home and perhaps learn more about him, it’s not easy for Demarco to walk the streets of his troubled past. The more Jayme and Demarco dig into the grisly murders, the less likely it is that they will escape unharmed.

“It’s exactly 10:29pm and dark in only the way a city can be dark. With a sky so black and low that the only thing visible in it is a pair of red blinking wing lights. No stars here, and down on the street there are only pools of light from the street lamps so that the darkness pooled around those lights looks oily and slick.”

REVIEW
A LONG WAY DOWN is part emotional character study; and part suspenseful and action-packed crime thriller. The story is complex and intricately layered. It’s not just about the gruesome murders, but is also about Demarco and his troubled past, his wife’s suicide attempt, the loss of his son, his insomnia and his relationship with Jayme, The writing is beautifully descriptive and richly textured. My absolute favorite part was the use of the lyrical writings from Thomas Huston, a professor friend of Ryan’s and a character we met earlier in the series. The use of Huston’s writings was creative, emotive and added even more depth to a novel that is bursting with intrigue.

The characters were delightfully well-developed. Demarco’s brooding character as a man trying to overcome past hardships is totally relatable. He knows he needs to pull himself out of the dark moodiness that threaten to envelope him at times. His willingness to try is admirable. Jayme is smart and feisty, and is quite capable of taking care of herself. She has no problem putting people in their place, particularly Demarco. I loved the clever repartee between the two of them. I loved watching their minds work as they attempt to resolve the case. Even the secondary characters are very well-developed.

I’m hooked, and can’t wait for the next book in this series!

Publisher Recorded Books
Published June 4, 2019
Narrated Graham Winton
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com ( )

Acclaimed bestselling author, Randall Silvis returns following Walking the Bones (2018) with his award-winning Ryan DeMarco mystery series in this third installment of the complex but compassionate character (and one you sympathize with) —A LONG WAY DOWN.

Silvis once again demonstrates he is a “master” of his craft combining both intelligent literary and mystery suspense in a powerful series, leaving readers eagerly awaiting the next.

From the last novel, we catch up with former sergeant of the Pennsylvania State Police, Ryan DeMarco (now, age fifty). He has spent time in the mountains of Kentucky alone struggling with his dreams and the grief of his son as well as taking time away from the job due to the intensity of the last case.

The new woman in his life, Trooper Jayme Matson (love her) has taken time away from her position to accompany and travel with DeMarco in their RV to figure out their relationship, allow Ryan to heal, and the next step.

However, Ryan gets called back to his hometown of Youngstown, PA to deal with his estranged wife, Laraine who has attempted suicide and currently under watch in the hospital. She has been coping with her grief over the loss of their son in destructive ways. Ryan, being the compassionate person, he is—flies back to be by her side with the support of Jayme.

DeMarco is haunted by this tragedy since his mother had done the exact same thing a quarter century earlier. Other than his mother, Laraine was the first woman he had ever loved. They met as children in a trailer park. He wondered about love. It could take many forms. It could be freeing or imprisoning.

From the love of his mother, his estranged wife, his baby son, Ryan, Jr, and now his love for Jayme. He felt tied to each of them. He had not been with his mom on her final night. Much of the heaviness had lifted since the dreams in the Kentucky mountains. He sees his son as a twelve-year-old in his dreams.

DeMaro had not been great at relationships, but things were good with Jayme, despite some of his bad decisions. However, women remained a mystery to him.

“He understood the criminal mind well, and had a knack for predicting its simple turns and convolutions. But the mind of a woman in love—no law of physics could account for the complexities of such a mind.”

However, without a woman in his life, he had no balance, no center.

The periods between these three women remained dark in his memory. There was anger, resentment, and the times he was closed off, allowing no one in when he went to the dark places.

While he is in his hometown, (a place he has stayed away from due to the many demons from his troubled past) – his old friend and football buddy from high school, Ben Brinker is now the county Sherriff and needs his help with a case.

There were two cold cases, one thirty years old and one eighty, both tied somehow to the new case. There were lots of similarities. He calls Jayme, and they both decide to pack up the RV and immerse themselves in this case.

Ryan was not so sure he wanted to plunge back into violence, murder, and serial killers, especially in his hometown, bringing up too many painful memories. Jayme encourages him, and she wants to see where Ryan came from to learn more about his past.

She also is talking about having a baby with Ryan, but she is walking on eggshells with that subject due to Ryan still grieving over his lost son.

With some interesting, colorful secondary characters, and local authorities, there is a lot of fun and humor with cat-and-mouse between Jayme, Ryan, and the locals. From the differences in sociopath and psychopath, (quite impressive) they all use their own tactics to delve the mind of this serial killer. The killer lies in wait for the right moment, strikes, and dismembers the body. Is there a copycat or is it the same killer from years ago. Why now?

Jayme is witty, intelligent, and she adores Ryan. She takes no crap from anyone and puts Ryan in his place when needed as well as everyone around her. She is the perfect partner for Ryan. She was instrumental in the Kentucky case, and Ryan is proud of her.

He is willing to remain in the background. They both will be working as independent private investigators attached to the office as consultants. Of course, some of the local egos must remain in check, and the jealousies continue to arise.

As they spend nights pouring through all the old files, they are some baffling differences, regarding why the killer treated the girl differently. In between working on the case, Ryan starts slowly opening up a little about his troubled past – his mother and father. Jayme still must keep her own desires to herself about a baby and patiently wait for the right time.

“Grief is like gravity; it grounds us in reality, but too much of it can crush a person flat.”

They also become friends with Ben and his wife, Vee (which I loved). Also, Ryan receives boxes of notebooks of Tom’s books (author from previous books) from his mother-in-law Rosemary. She wants him to sift through and put together a book.

However, as the days go on trying to solve this murder, Ryan and Jayme pull out these handwritten notes, the powerful words speak to them on different levels.

The lyrical, poetic prose is breathtaking as the words come at the exact moment to help guide, comfort, and soothe their weary souls.

Ryan’s emotions are all over the board, from being back in his hometown and haunted by his estranged wife, his mother’s suicide, his baby son’s death, the loss of Tom his devoted friend, his PTSD, his insomnia, the mood swings, his guilt, his relationship with Jayme, and he is overwhelmed with the violence of these cases.

Often Jayme senses he is pulled back into the lurking darkness. Can she help him out of this downward spiral?

The case takes a turn which puts Ryan and Jayme in danger the suspense builds, as they hang on to their lives by a thread.

As a boy, Ryan found solace in the woods. The angry, frightened, and troubled little boy. As an adult, he feels the same. He despises the ugliness and hatred in the world and why people are so cruel to each other. He wanted to escape. However, through Jayme and his friend’s comforting words, he begins to see life on a deeper level and a more meaningful enriched life.

Words cannot adequately describe this novel and Silvis’s beautiful writing. In A LONG WAY DOWN, he infuses lush, poetic, and evocative descriptions of Thomas Huston, (Tom) literature professor, and bestselling author character we met in previous books (friend of Ryan).

As a reader, these were awe-inspiring moments, as Ryan (in particular) and Jayme, both starving for these perfect words of wisdom for guidance. The quotes came at the exact moment in their complicated lives when they needed them the most, to make sense of their current situation.

There are many quotes I wanted to include here. I enjoyed the piece about nature and life. I bookmarked many pages and quotes. However, my review will be even longer (than it is already).😘 I have included some of those in my upcoming interview with the author. You almost forget you are reading a crime murder mystery, due to being caught up in the lyrical prose. (a good thing).

This is a rare skill, when writing crime or suspense with tension, to allow the reader to unravel the character’s emotions and their thoughts at the precise moment. I think this goes back to the author’s skillful craft of combining literary and suspense.

This is where Silvis shines. It is not so much about the action taking place, or what is coming next, it is the moment you stop and hear, smell, sense what the character is experiencing. To really enjoy literary fiction, you must fall in love with the words and the characters.

Yes, there is plenty of action, and suspense to drive this thriller; however, Silvis has a unique way of reaching down into the soul of his haunted characters who are compassionate and flawed, seeking redemption, and wants to see the good in this world in spite of the darkness. Isn’t this real life and what we all want?

There is darkness, suspense, action, misery, death, violence. Despair and sorrow. But there is good, beauty, joy, hope, compassion, and light.

As referenced in the novel, when DeMarco recalls a conversation with Thomas Huston, to suggest to him that investigating a crime was a lot like writing a novel. Huston had explained that Chandler chose not to write typical mysteries, those in which the only thing that matters is the resolution, the solution to the mystery, but instead to write mysteries in which every scene matters because every scene adds another layer to the main character.

Not about what happens to the world as the plot unfolds, but what happens inside the character and the reader. Chandler’s goal, said Huston, was to “to exceed the limits of a formula without destroying it.”

Silvis manages and executes, flawlessly. Thought-provoking!

Why are people drawn to shows like This is Us and The Village? Because, it is raw, real, and flawed people dealing with the ugliness of life, yet it is uplifting and inspiring. A perfect balance. It is relatable. In our current world of unrest, we all are seeking a higher and spiritual meaning.

I loved the up close and personal relationship between Jayme and Ryan, and I am looking forward to the next in this series. I have a feeling we will see more of Jayme, Ryan, Laraine (fingers crossed). A series not to be missed!

Please join me on June 4 for an extensive interview with the award-winning author, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and prolific essayist. For readers/writers and exclusive behind the scene look at his characters and his writing, plus learn what is coming next! Do not miss this edition. I am truly honored to speak with one of my favorite authors and one of my most fascinating interviews this year.

Also, I am hosting a Book Giveaway May 20-June 3, 2019. Enter here for a chance to win (1 of 5) Paperback ARCs US only. Winner announced June 4.

A special thank you to Poisoned Pen Press (Michael), Sourcebooks, and Netgalley for an early reading copy.

Read my reviews:
Two Days Gone #1 Top Books of 2017
Walking the Bones #2 Top Books of 2018
A Long Way Down #3 Top Books of 2019

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