MYSTERY/THRILLER
Brett Burlison
Barton Creek Press
Paperback, 978-0-9969696-0-4 (ebook also available), 348 pages, $13.95
January 2016
Riverside by Brett Burlison is a well-written mystery thriller that deftly captures the atmosphere of its Austin settings in the early 1990s. Readers who know the Texas capital city will recognize many neighborhoods and establishments not far from the sprawling University of Texas at Austin campus.
That’s the good news. The less-good news for this debut novel is that some readers may feel little or no empathy toward, or sympathy for, its two main characters, Bobby Patrick and Katherine Ann “Katie” Smith.
Burlison wants us to believe Bobby and Katie are deeply in love. Yet, they are portrayed as “smart and energetic stoners.” Little seems to hold them together except smoking, drinking, getting high together, and sex, lots of sex, sometimes graphically described.
Both are history-major college dropouts with only vague notions of possibly returning to school someday. Bobby, however, has overcome a difficult background made tougher by dyslexia and now is a good landscaper with steady work. Meanwhile, Katie has occasionally worked in restaurants, and her parents are not happy she has dropped out but basically have not paid her much attention lately.
The trouble for Bobby and Katie begins with Sara, Katie’s close childhood friend who also attended UT-Austin and dropped out. Sara comes from a wealthy family and has been dating a drug dealer named Paul. The author tells us that “the drama that came with Paul seemed to follow Sara like a shadow.” Katie, by extension, also has been affected by whatever trouble Paul has caused Sara.
Paul, it turns out, is mixed up in bad deals with another Austin drug dealer, Jeff. And Jeff has “friends” in low places who know how to resort to violence.
Through Katie, Bobby has become known to Paul and Jeff. And when Katie starts asking Bobby to help Sara with some problems, the tension quickly rises. A web of mystery and trouble is spreading around Sara. It soon ensnares Katie and Bobby and pulls in others. And it is serious enough that police officers will become involved, and people will get killed.
Amid the turmoil, Katie and Bobby both start longing for normalcy. And Katie finally convinces Bobby to join her and a friend, Danny, in opening a restaurant named Hemphill. It seems a jarringly illogical choice given their circumstances, yet it is one that might actually be made by young people in trouble who are desperately trying to turn their lives around.
The ending Burlison works out for his novel is violent, but plausible. And it will leave some readers uncomfortable and unsatisfied with the key characters’ choices. Nonetheless, Burlison, a talent to watch, exhibits good skills as a writer. Riverside is smooth reading, and the novel clearly has received close editing, a net positive.
Bottom line, some readers may identify strongly with Bobby and Katie. But others will wish the key characters had exhibited more depth and positive qualities within the arc of their story.
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