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A review by judithdcollins
A Long Way Down by Randall Silvis
5.0
Check out my fascinating Q&A with the Author!
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 Q&A 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.
Congrats to the 5 lucky winners of the Book Giveaway Contest (ARC Paperbacks) Here
Kimberly Edge l Braselton, GA
Kiley Cooper l Colorado Springs, CO
Andi Light l Port Hueneme, CA
Diane Hefenieder l Powell, WY
Marsha Daniel l Fernandina Beach, FL
A special thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Sourcebooks, and Netgalley for an early reading copy. I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Graham Winton (excellent).
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
#JDCMustReadBooks
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 Q&A 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.
Congrats to the 5 lucky winners of the Book Giveaway Contest (ARC Paperbacks) Here
Kimberly Edge l Braselton, GA
Kiley Cooper l Colorado Springs, CO
Andi Light l Port Hueneme, CA
Diane Hefenieder l Powell, WY
Marsha Daniel l Fernandina Beach, FL
A special thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Sourcebooks, and Netgalley for an early reading copy. I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Graham Winton (excellent).
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
#JDCMustReadBooks