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CRYSTAL METH COWBOYS is John Knoerle's first book. Wes Lyedecker is a rookie cop, who has traveled across the country to join the police force in a small West Coast town. This does cause some hostile especially since he is an East Coast boy. His training officer is Officer Bell. Bell is somewhat unorthodox with his methods; however, he is always concerned with finding the guilty. Beyond the culture shock, things are not going well for Lyedecker. He is lusting after a married (future) politician and work is not going well either. Within his first week, a criminal takes away his gun and Bell is forced to kill the suspect in order to save Lyedecker's life. Lyedecker is a brown noser but slowly he begins to find his way in the force. As they investigate the shooting victim, they find themselves tracking down a meth lab. Lyedecker and Bell must find the backers before more lives are lost from drug consumption or murder. When reading a book, it is vitally important to understand why an author does something. Was that character included to demonstrate the protagonist's inability to commit, or so the killer will have a likely target to hunt? Unfortunately in CRYSTAL METH COWBOYS, things are not as clean cut. This book did have the noir atmosphere that such a title implies; however, it was at the sacrifice of plot and character development. The writing is about average and the plot seems very stripped. Nothing is included that does not have a direct relationship to the case. There is little character description and no one seems realistic. In some ways, the book is reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson (author of FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS) – not because of drug references but because both books have the same disjointed feel. The ending of this book really throws the reader for a loop, especially since the book lacks any foreshadowing of the concluding events. The book feels as though the author was attempting to combine mystery with literature and shortchanged them both. The ending of the book was powerful; unfortunately, the events leading up to it were not. Knoerle needs to hone his craft until he is able to add depth to his plots. Until Knoerle is able to do so, his readers will always feel cheated upon the completion of his books.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, August 2003
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