Collateral Damage by Austin Camacho

I first ran into Mr. Camacho through his non-fiction books for writers. I had picked up a copy of Successfully Marketing Your Novel in the 21st Century. I found the book so incredibly helpful that I used it as my main source of information when I mapped out the marketing strategy for Hacksaw. Throughout the book, Mr. Camacho made references to his mystery novels.

I love mysteries and was pleasantly surprise to find a new writer in that genre. So I ordered a copy of Collateral Damage and I'm glad I did.

Hannibal Jones, the protagonist, lives in our nation's capitol. Most of us know two faces of our capitol - the monuments/tourist sites and the prime-time news crime stories. But Washington, D. C. is a large city. Many people live there and lead normal lives - work, raise the kids, worry about retirement, etc. This is the Washington that Mr. Camacho brings to life. Hannibal Jones lives in such a neighborhood. He is well known to and liked by his neighbors. He is also who they turn to when things go wrong. Hannibal is a 'professional troubleshooter'.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and not just because it was a good mystery solved with good detection, common sense, and morals. I loved the way Mr. Camacho brought the whole neighorhood to life. Mother Washington and the gang feel like new friends.