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THE LONG MILE
by Clyde W. Ford
Midnght Ink, October 2006
256 pages
$13.95
ISBN: 0738707856


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

THE LONG MILE is the first in the 'Shango Mysteries'. Former NYPD detective John Shannon is out on appeal after serving two years in jail for the murder of a DEA agent. His time in jail was not totally wasted as, while he was incarcerated, his cell mate Charles Promise manages to change his way of thinking.

His may have welcomed his release but his life is far from rosy on the outside. Homeland Security want a word with him, as do the FBI, his estranged wife wants some time to herself and to make things worse his son whom he adores has been kidnapped. As can be expected Shannon refuses to play by the rules and sets off to find his son before it is too late.

Set in New York City it is an attempt by an African-American to find his son and lead him away from a life of crime. In the process, he is resolute in not allowing the drug lords, mob, and crooked cops (who all want him out of the way) from dissuading him from the course he has taken. This of course results in the predictable gunplay. As Shannon lurches from one crisis to another Ford’s psychological background comes to the fore.

Disappointment is the word that comes to mind with THE LONG MILE. Ford has attempted to write a gritty crime novel and in some ways, he has. It is harsh, fast-paced and heartfelt. How could it not be when you have a former policeman who is also a distraught father trying to ensure that his son does not end up dead on the streets.

As a character, Shannon is reminiscent of a combination of Walter Mosley’s Socrates Fortlow and Richard Hilary’s Ezell 'Easy' Barnes. It is clear that Shannon has a lot to struggle with. Anger, violence, justice, and injustice are a few that come to mind. There is no subtlety – the reader is hit full in the face with it.

What lets THE LONG MILE down in my view is that it is predictable. Once again you have a former African-American police officer on a trumped-up murder charge. He has a fragmented personal life and he is still being hunted by the police. There is no originality in this novel.

As one reads THE LONG MILE one wishes that there was some new development that would relieve the usual and depressing depiction of not only the harsh streets and those that inhabit them but also the view of male African-Americans. As a reader you can see what is going to happen a mile off.

This is not to say that THE LONG MILE is not topical. Of course it is – it would not be a crime novel if it were not. The problem with THE LONG MILE is that its predictability is too obvious.

Reviewed by Ayo Onatade, October 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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