ARA Review by Cathy Derr of Free Fish Friday

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Cathy Derr
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Joined: 03 Apr 2021, 08:33
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ARA Review by Cathy Derr of Free Fish Friday

Post by Cathy Derr »

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Free Fish Friday.]
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4 out of 5 stars
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Free Fish Friday by Lee Stone is the first book of a mystery series set in Key West, Florida. This book would more be more appropriately described as a character study that happened to involve a murder than strictly a murder mystery.

The story opens with an omniscient narrator describing the discovery of Jerry Porter’s body. We then transition to a first person POV from Slacker Mills. Slacker’s story telling style dominates. Imagine sitting at a table in The Rusty Hook tavern sipping on a whiskey while Slacker meanders through a maze of pathways within his brain. He tells stories, many, many stories, about his childhood, about his friends, and about fishing. It’s easy to believe that at some point in his childhood he was diagnosed with ADD by a very frustrated elementary school teacher.

We learn right away that Jerry Porter has died but it takes to chapter ten before any of the details are revealed. Slacker has a lot of colorful friends and they all have colorful stories for him to expound upon. I wasn’t sipping on whiskey while reading, so there were moments I wanted to grab Slacker by the shoulders and shake him yelling “So what the f… happened to Jerry?”

The standard rules for a mystery are broken immediately. The murder is an afterthought and not the focus of the story right away. Yet somehow this approach works well for this particular book. The reader begins to understand Slacker Mills in a deep and almost profound way. Through Slacker’s narrative the reader also gets to know the victim, Jerry Porter, almost as thoroughly as Slacker himself.

Lee Stone has an ability to put the reader in his world; describing where he lived-- “…it had been spruced down with a few coats of green and black mildew and mold.” Talking about a neighbor—” Because Martice slept all day and disappeared at night, he was a perfect neighbor.” And talking about fish— “Alive in the water, they are iridescent emerald green on the sides, brightening to yellow toward the belly. A brilliant blue dorsal fin runs the full length of the body.”

Once the story gets rolling, the pace quickens and there are plenty of possible solutions to what happened to Jerry and why. Slacker has such a strong voice; the reader never is thrown out of the story and the pace clicks along. The climax and solution were reasonable and satisfying. The reader doesn’t feel tricked as the hints and clues are present but not completely obvious.

For readers who let the story flow in its own time, (just as Slacker sits and talks about his personal philosophy regarding fishing, friends, women, the Keys, and life) this is the story for them. The reader is lured into this story just like a fish is lured to the hook.

The more I read the more this story grew on me and I was caught. I give Free Fish Friday a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

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