Book Review: "Hunting the Five Point Killer" by C.M. Wendelboe

 

On the tenth anniversary of a series of unsolved murders, the Five Point Killer is back for blood—and retired cop Arn Anderson could be the next investigator who gets too close to the truth.

Retired detective Arn Anderson never thought he’d be broke enough to take on a cold murder case. Or desperate enough to team up with a TV reporter. Or pathetic enough to go back to his rundown childhood home after he swore he’d left Cheyenne for good. But here he is, hunting a serial killer who also appears to have come out of retirement. On the anniversary of the Five Point Killer’s crimes, Arn’s only option is to survive the carnage of a murderer who may be too twisted—and too brilliant—to catch. - from Goodreads.com

I have really enjoyed the books by Wendelboe. They feel realistic and gritty like a western, yet take place in current times. Much similar to Craig Johnson's 'Longmire' series.

In this first book of the series, we meet our main character, Arn Anderson, a retired Denver Metro Police officer, as he is hired as a detective/consultant on a 10-year old case in the town he grew up in Wyoming. As he searches for missed clues, he is trying to restore his parents' home (which has been abandoned for many years) and we meet Danny, which seems to be the comedic release of the story. Danny is a Native American that "finds" things from chairs, to refrigerators (from the fridge fairy).

All in all, the story felt like it dragged just a bit around the middle, but by then, I had no clue who the actual killer was, and even was wildly guessing people who were barely involved at all. Obviously being a case(s) several years old, there is a bring up of old memories, which over time has built feelings that skew how things were looked on ten years previously. Nearing the end of the story, I still was surprised with the actual final details, and how they are "coerced" from anyone involved. More surprised was I to read of how the charges/sentencing were handled.

This was a great story, and when I find the time, I would love to go back and read the next book(s) in this series, as well as more of Wendelboe's works.