Review: Bullets in the Water

Conor McAnally, Bullets in the Water, (Stoney Creek Publishing Group, 2025)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8960570209

What’s going on in Taborville?

Disgraced journalist Mike Carson comes back to Taborville to sell the old house he inherited from his uncle. He interrupts a fight to defend a woman and ends up being arrested himself, only to find later that his opponent was the son of a powerful local, Duke McMillan, owner of the bar. Duke and his sons Zane and Karter are involved in some shady drugs business.

Mike takes an unpaid position on the local newspaper and is sent to cover a boring council meeting. But it turns out not to be boring at all, and McMillan is angered by Mike’s write-up. Mike is also investigating a local murder, and all the dirty doings of the locals seem to be connected, dredging up crimes committed in the past.

This is a good, well written detective story, and the characters are distinct and interesting. The way the baddies hide their criminal activities is genius, and the way Karter gets his come-uppance is fabulous.

It gets started rather slowly, but gets increasingly exciting as Mike uncovers more clues as to what’s going on in Taborville. As is usual in the genre, he has to confront some issues within himself (drinking, past professional mistakes) and within his own family (his brother’s fatal car accident) before he can solve the crime.