Detective Tito Ihaka, the profane, overweight, Maori star of Death on Demand is back to his truculent ways in Fallout. Auckland District Commander Finbar McGrail, aware of Ihaka's unorthodox, occasionally illegal and undeniably effective methods, has pulled Ihaka off active duty to delve into a cold case.
In 1987, when McGrail had just immigrated to New Zealand, he investigated the murder of a girl named Patty Stenson. Patty was friendly with some wealthy teenagers, children of an Auckland high-roller named Tim Barton, who hosted a huge election-night bash. The next morning, Patty's body was found amid the party rubbish cluttering the Barton mansion.
Ihaka, more obstinate than McGrail could ever be, quickly discovers that some very important people--politicians, businessmen, models--attended at the party, and Barton had left their names off the list he gave to McGrail. Now, nearly 30 years later, those guests will not be happy to be involved in a murder investigation. That just means Ihaka will have to be wilier than usual.
Paul Thomas's books are deservedly popular in New Zealand. Darkly humorous and compellingly twisty, the mystery within the mystery will keep the reader guessing until nearly the end. Exploring the highest levels of political and business corruption, Fallout is a fascinating crime novel. It can be read as a standalone, but readers will surely be unable to resist going back and reading Death on Demand to enjoy more of Tito Ihaka's unusual charms. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm