Murder Becomes Manhattan by Jeffrey Eaton

“Do not forget that our goal is the overthrow of capitalism and the bondage it inflicts on the human soul. Behaving like a free-market fan only makes you look like a hypocrite, if not a traitor, does it not?”

– Jeffrey Eaton, Murder Becomes Manhattan

            What would it be like to embrace a suspense-filled adventure in the heart of the Big Apple? It’s one thing to experience it for yourself as you walk past heaven-high skyscrapers along Wall Street. It’s another to read about a murder orchestrated by an anonymous anarchist organization that only seek trouble while indulging descriptions of well-known locations around Manhattan, New York City. Murder Becomes Manhattan is the story of a group of architects who help FBI agents discover the killer behind the murder of a young woman in a lonesome closet of the very same hotel where Dalton Lee and company unveil their latest architectural project. To top it off, a secret anarchist group, also known as The Organization, might have something to do behind the murders The Lee Group plan on deciphering. Who are they? Who is she? Why is an architect helping investigators?

“‘I believe great art does not shrink from the blemishes of reality,’ he said abruptly. ‘I believe great art must reflect the bad as well as the good if it is truly to inspire us, educate us, don’t you agree?’”

– Jeffrey Eaton, Murder Becomes Manhattan

            This mystery novel has a talent to mesmerize you and oblige your fingertips to swiftly flip through pages and pages of the novel. Every chapter ended with a cliff-hanger that no common mortal could bring themselves to lay the book to rest. Brilliantly written, Jeffrey Eaton not only delivers a great mystery tale, but also portrays Manhattan with great details here and then. I’d say that this was a very original touch to his story (and potential series). Although some elements throughout the tale had me skeptical, such as investigators being able to tell a person’s past adventures to different countries with just the follicle of a hair. However, making his characters a bunch of casual, every day citizen with great architectural knowledge made the story pretty entertaining.

            The biggest fault in this novel is probably the fact that the book felt like a sequel to a novel that doesn’t exist. Sadly, this could’ve been avoided by adding more emphasis on The Organization. For a hidden super villain organization, it felt like they were greatly neglected in the story. Additionally, Dalton Lee’s past regarding this organization is mentioned a couple times throughout the tale and quickly dismissed as well. It would have been great to know more about the great take-down he made happen against this Organization through a side-story spread out in parts throughout the book. That would definitely have mended to this issue. Murder Becomes Manhattan, if the protagonists original encounter with The Organization was never to be explored in future, could’ve greatly benefited from more insight on the goals, purposes, past and more or this Organization. What this simply did to the tale is take away a great angle and point of view. Anarchy, which was perhaps a key motive in the Organization, was hardly felt.

“‘Why should you have to respect some government that is addicted to corruption?’ he barked at those who could not hear him. ‘Be forced to value conformity over creativity? Cling to families that revel in dysfunction and schools that dish out propaganda as truth?’”

– Jeffrey Eaton, Murder Becomes Manhattan

            Nevertheless, Murder Becomes Manhattan is a great mystery novel. Some characters were well developed but their number were a bit overwhelming for a novel of this length. Some of them could’ve needed more spotlight and some of them could have been put aside. The book felt like it was only flirting with character introduction more than development. However, a number of them were very interesting just through their introduction. Having lost important people, the Lee Group deal with this differently and that was very well presented. It would’ve been nice to see more of this and get to know more on these characters past. I suppose future Dalton Lee mystery adventures will cover this point.

“There are those few, fleeting moments when what is dear and essential to us manifests before us, bathing us in a glow of gratitude.”

– Jeffrey Eaton, Murder Becomes Manhattan

           Greats ideas were brought into this debut novel. A group of architects that gets turned on by the idea of taking down a secret anarchist organization, who wouldn’t want to see how they do it? From the looks of it, Murder Becomes Manhattan is only the first of many other books that are bound to be set in different locations for readers to not only indulge in a mystery novel, but a sight-seeing (or should I say sight-reading) adventure. It would definitely be nice to get more background on this Organization as well as explore more the personas of the various characters that Jeffrey Eaton has created. Filled with suspense, a fun plot line and an original touch of architecture, this novel is a entertaining book to read right before bed. Or maybe a little earlier?

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My overall rating: ★★★★☆/