One of the better 'origin'
stories I've read. Jake Oliver (Quinn) is an honest cop too smart for his own
good. First on the scene of a suspected arson, he soon uncovers clues about a
more sinister crime, one that will lead him down a path of shattered dreams,
fallen friends, and ultimately, a new profession.
Author Brett Battles instils a sense
of the familiar to the origin tale by opening the novel with a scene likened to
any of the Quinn books to date: A hit team on a mission with the 'cleaner' the
eyes of the op. Durrie, the cleaner in
BECOMING QUINN is cold, calculated, highly observant, and somewhat weighed down
by the seemingly incompetent hitmen
accompanying him on the op. It's easy to draw comparisons
between Durrie and Quinn even at this early
junction. Jake the 22yr old cop from Phoenix,
Durrie, the professional clearer of murder sites
operate in a similar manner despite their initially differing
occupation.
I liked the way Battles added an emotional
element to this take on the rookie cop. Enlisting the services of fellow rookie,
Berit, a hard working female officer who recognises the
seriousness of the crime and implications associated with evidence overlooked by
the subdivision detectives, Battles ensures that the omnipresent danger lurking
within the unsanctioned duo's investigation is more reality than sidebar.
BECOMING QUINN is fast paced, while not in league
with other Quinn novels, the police procedural aspect borders on noir - it's
perhaps more darker than the Quinn cleaner novels by virtual of it's
unsanctioned, off-the-grid investigation by Jake and Berit
which ultimately culminates in the creation that is Jonathan Quinn. I
really enjoyed this - 5 stars.
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