SOUTHTOWN by Rick Riordan

Southtown is the fifth book in Rick Riordan's award-winning series about San Antonio private investigator Tres Navarre, but the books can be read in any order. (In my case I read The Last King Of Texas first, which happened to be his sixth book. Each one is a blast and they all stand alone, but if you're starting from scratch grab Big Red Tequila.) Thanks to Ray Hengst at Remember The Alibi for reminding me about this unread gem in what is arguably the best PI series being written today.

Southtown is notable for several reasons, but what's truly remarkable is Riordan's confidence in changing POV. He switches seamlessly from first person to third as the perspective changes from one chapter to the next, and the effect is extraordinary. By the end of this book you have tremendous empathy for all the characters, even the bad guys, which is all too rare in suspense novels.

What blew me away were the chapters written from the perspective of Sam Barrera, an aging ex-FBI agent suffering from early Alzheimer's. Rather than reduce Barrera's condition to a two-dimensional liability, Riordan infuses his descriptions with humor, attitude, and flashes of self-awareness that let us see the man that once was, trapped inside a mind that he can no longer trust. These chapters make the character incredibly sympathetic and the disease all the more terrifying.

These books are smart, funny, and so deftly plotted that you'll wonder if even the author knew what was going to happen next. No wonder Riordan has won the Edgar, Anthony and Shamus. Tres Navarre is my kind of PI.