Book Review: Dead or Alive, Kevin Kerney Series by Michael McGarrity

Recently I read a book by Michael McGarrity called Dead or Alive, A Kevin Kerney novel. Dead or Alive isn't the type of book that I generally choose to read but I was given the opportunity to read it for free and then review it for the website,IJustFinished.com.

Dead or Alive starts with plenty of action as prisoner Craig Larson is mistaken for a different prisoner with the same name who is scheduled to be moved to a minimum security prison. This particular Craig Larson is looking at many years in a maximum security prison so he makes the decision to escape.

Tricking the guard who is driving him to the minimum security prison, Larson nearly kills the guard and gets away in the prison van. Stopping at a rest stop, Larson locks a young couple and their baby in the prison van with the windows up in the hot New Mexico weather and steals their car. After that violent beginning, Larson cuts a path of even more violent murder and mayhem as he takes what he wants and learns how much he loves to kill people.

Larson murders a young cowboy on a Santa Fe ranch that is owned by Kevin Kerney. Ex-police chief Kerney is living in London England with his military wife who is assigned to London, along with their young son. Kerney also has an adult son, half Apache Clayton Istee, a police lieutenant, whose police chief was shot Larson.

For the remainder of the book, the police pursue Craig Larson as he goes on an increasingly more violent killing spree. During the chase, Kerney comes home from London and teams up with his son Clayton to capture the escaped murderer, dead or alive.

Dead or Alive does have one particular strong point. It is absolutely filled with action from start to finish. There's very little that is slow about the story.

I have to admit that Dead or Alive is not the type of book that I want to read. I did have the feeling that I was reading a story where I was missing parts of it. I found the characters undeveloped and I think that might be because I haven't read any of the other eleven books in the Kevin Kerney series. I was also surprised by the book in that as a Kevin Kerney novel, Kevin Kerney didn't appear to be the main character.

We know the most about the thoughts of the escaped prisoner, Craig Larson, because he is given so much of a voice throughout the story. The story changes point of view a little too often. I didn't find changing the point of view from Clayton to Kerney to Larson and then to someone else to help further the plot. In fact, I felt it may have even weakened the story.

The plot included a great deal of violence, i.e. murders and rapes with too many details. Some readers, myself included, would definitely be bothered by so many violent details.

I don't recommend the book, Dead or Alive, because I just did not enjoy reading it. It is definitely NOT for people who like to read a cozy mystery with well-developed characters. This story is geared towards readers who like action-packed adventures that include quite a bit of violence. If you do read Dead or Alive, I would recommend reading other books in the series before reading this particular book in the hope that the characters will have more depth for the reader.

I give Dead or Alive three out of five stars, mostly because it WAS so full of action.

Dead or Alive, A Kevin Kearney Novel by Michael McGarrity
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Dutton
ISBN-10: 0525950818