Haunted Hearts

Henry G. MacLeod teaches sociology at both Trent University and the
University of Waterloo.

After a nine-year hiatus, Joe McGuire returns in this new murder
mystery. The opening episode effectively familiarizes new readers with
McGuire’s maverick nature and with the author’s light, amusing
style. Working as a decoy for the Boston police department, McGuire
disguises himself as a tourist in order to apprehend muggers. When he
refuses to stay in character, a mugger who is able to escape
subsequently becomes more violent and starts killing some of his
victims.

The 50-plus and twice-divorced McGuire has been retired from the Boston
police force for more than three years. His colourful career included
two decorations as a homicide detective but also a demotion for
assaulting a lawyer in the courtroom. He lives with his former partner,
Ollie Schantz, and Schantz’s wife, Ronnie. On the second day of his
retirement seven years earlier, Ollie was paralyzed in a fishing
accident; his marriage is now showing the growing strain that comes with
years of caregiving.

The unemployed McGuire is hired as an investigator by a firm of
lawyers. While performing routine duties, exposing insurance frauds, and
getting romantically involved with one of the secretaries, he is asked
surreptitiously by lawyer Orin Flanigan to trace someone. After he
provides him with the information, Flanigan goes missing and turns up
dead. McGuire’s search for the killer leads to a mysterious woman who
often visited Flanigan’s office. McGuire gains her trust and begins to
find answers to the murder.

Haunted Hearts is suspenseful and entertaining. McGuire is an
appealing, sympathetic protagonist because of his flaws and
vulnerability. He is not the invincible hero but the everyman who gets
the job done. The plot is straightforward and nicely supported by a
diverse assortment of secondary characters.