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Head Wounds

Chris Knopf
The Permanent Press (2008)
ISBN 9781579621650
Reviewed by Audrey Larson for RebeccasReads (2/08)

Chris Knopf is a master of phraseology.  His use of “ten dollar words”--and often strings of them--is fascinating.  Often, you just want to stay in a paragraph, reread it, and let the wondrous words, nuances and insights they convey soak in.  Pure pleasure.

The main character in “Head Wounds” is Sam Aquillo.  He is a well-educated, complex man, who was a successful corporate man and boxer, now turned carpenter.  He lives in the waterfront cottage in the Hamptons that he inherited from his late parents.  Sam has a dog named Eddie Van Halen, an ex-wife, and a next-door neighbor who is a property owner and developer.  She is also his slowly-developing love interest.  Sam has restored his late father's 1967 Grand Prix, and you can just see him driving along in it with Eddie, his dog, and perhaps a cup of his favorite gourmet, flavored coffee.

When a man is murdered shortly after Sam has a fight with him and his cohorts outside a bar, the police are so sure than Sam did it, that they don't even look for another suspect.  So, Sam embarks on a long investigation of his own to find the motivation behind the killing and the real murderer.  It is an interesting journey.

There is some fascinating engineering, medical and psychological information as Sam investigates everything.  Along the way, there is also mystery, intrigue, arson, and insights into why Sam lost his marriage and former career.  He has done some surprising things in his life, drinks too much, and nurses his head injury from former violence.

Since Sam is so likeable, you want everything to work out well for him.  You want him to solve all the mysteries, find the real killer, stabilize his life, settle down and find happiness.  And when there finally is a happy ending to “Head Wounds,” you don't want Sam's story or the book to end.  Thus, it is good that it is a part of the Sam Aquillo Hampton's Mystery Series.  Sam’s saga continues.

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