The Kennedy Connection by R.G. Belsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
First off, it really didn’t take me as long to read this book as the dates might indicate. Because it was in my car, handy for those waits when picking up kids from various activities.
But once I got it out of my car…
This is another series I read out of order (because a friend insisted I read Blonde Ice (see my review of that). This is the first book. And as such Gil Malloy is a bit of a…jerk. He’s a down-and-out tabloid reporter. It doesn’t get worse than that (well, maybe politicians, but I digress).
What makes it work is you see spots where Malloy isn’t a jerk. He could be a nice guy. If he stopped being a smartass. And he’s a heck of a reporter.
The storyline is clever. A serial killer obsessed with the JKF assassination 50 years ago, leaving Kennedy half-dollars as his calling card. A man claiming to be Lee Harvey Oswald’s secret son. It’s a heck of a story. And buried in the background, a simple gang killing. How could it all possibly fit together?
Belsky obviously has the reporter’s background down and his dialog/description is what you’d consider spot-on for that environment. Malloy is an engaging character (I have the benefit of seeing where he goes from reading book 3, but if you’re new to the series, you’ll see the potential there, under the surface). The plotting is tight and the action is snappy.
Highly recommended for those looking for a suspense-type read that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.