Review: HOME TRUTHS

HOME TRUTHS by Mark McGinn (Story Grid, 2021)

Reviewed by George Hollinsworth

Detective Sergeant Jonah Solomon is used to navigating the ruins of Christchurch, New Zealand, a city nowhere near recovery more than a year after a devastating earthquake. He’s also used to navigating the prejudice that keeps plenty of doors closed to Maori officers like him. Most of his colleagues think Jonah’s responsible for letting ex-cop-turned-con artist Rachel Trix escape justice with barely a slap on the wrist. He’s got a resignation letter in his desk drawer, signed and ready, should anyone ask.

With a credible new tip on Trix’s exit plan, Jonah has one more chance to make things right—until an ambush turns the operation into a bloody nightmare. He is immediately shaken by aftershocks that reveal lies and corruption at every level of the police force. With fewer and fewer people he can trust, a complex web of secrets puts Jonah and his family at the mercy of ruthless criminals. Can he finally reveal the truths he’s protected since childhood in order to save himself and the people he loves most?

Having been in Christchurch on February 22nd, and knowing many who have subsequently faced the frustrations of insurance settlement processes, I found this an engaging read. The Author’s dedication says it all! “…justice delayed is justice denied”. 

Weaving the deep-seated corruption of “Home Truths” around these very real and, for some, still ongoing situations make the story seem extremely plausible and therefore more engrossing. 

The plotline is nicely paced throughout, and Jonah Solomon’s backstory cleverly unfolds in parallel. Tensions build nicely to create a gripping conclusion to Jonah’s six-week investigation into insurance fraud, police corruption and the killing of a colleague that could almost belong to John Rebus from an Ian Rankin novel. 

Just who in the force can he trust to help while the clock is ticking, and who wants the plug pulled on the investigation? He had made the decision to quit, the letter in his pocket, but who is it that is looking to end his career before he can deliver it?

The characters of Eve and Griff could have been more fully drawn which would have given even more depth to Jonah’s but, all in all, this a commendable novel and, for one who enjoys the style of Rankin and others of the genre, I will be searching out some of McGinn’s earlier work for sure. 

This review was first published in FlaxFlower reviews, which focuses on in-depth reviews of New Zealand books of all kinds, and is reprinted here with the kind permission of Flaxflower founder and editor Bronwyn Elsmore.