Revisiting Richard Hoyt – From Fish Story to Crow’s Mind

The first year I started keeping fairly detailed notes on my reading was 1988. I didn’t record exact start and finish dates until March, so my January and February reads are just listed by month. But I do know that the first book of the year was Richard Hoyt’s Fish Story, the fourth book in his John Denson mystery series.

John Denson, Seattle private eye, teams up with his darts-throwing Cowlitz Indian buddy, Willie Prettybird, to investigate a Cowlitz claim to Native American salmon fishing rights. A judge is murdered and dismembered parts show up in Seattle’s Pioneer Square.

Denson is an ex-intelligence agent turned Seattle private eye, and Fish Story is the first of his cases on my Goodreads shelves. I don’t think it was my first Denson book, though — I’m pretty sure that honor goes to Book 2: Siskiyou.

Hoyt’s Denson books were, for me, short, quick reads with likable, quirky characters. I especially remember enjoying Willie Prettybird’s character.

Beyond Denson – Enter James Burlane

Before Fish Story, I had already read Trotsky’s Run, the first in Hoyt’s James Burlane series.
There was a six-year gap between Fish Story and the next Denson mystery (Who?), and somewhere in there I lost track of Denson until 1996 when I picked up Book 7, Snake Eyes.

Then came another long pause — eight years — before 2003’s The Weatherman’s Daughter, which I also read and enjoyed.

A New Detective in Town – Jake Hipp

On visiting Richard Hoyt’s website, I discovered a newer book, Crow’s Mind, introducing private investigator Jake Hipp. Here’s how Hoyt describes him:

I shrugged at the odds and moved on from my much-admired detective John Denson to create a private investigator truly for our times and for readers tired of reading formula mysteries. No world-weary grimacing bead of sweat narrates this story. Pothead Jake Hipp lives green. His American Indian partner, Willow Blackwing, thinks she is a shape-changing trickster Raven. (Maybe she is).

You can find Crow’s Mind at Amazon.

Praise for Richard Hoyt

• “Hoyt has a fresh, invigorating style that grabs the reader immediately. He is a master.” – The New York Times
• “Hoyt is an adroit and zestful writer.” – Minneapolis Star-Tribune
• “Hoyt is a delight to discover and a treat to read.” – Library Journal

Where I Stand with Hoyt’s Books

Hoyt has given readers:

• The John Denson mysteries
• The James Burlane thrillers
• Now, the Jake Hipp PI series

I still have gaps to fill in both Denson and Burlane — and now a whole new series to start. Sounds like a good problem to have.

Next Up in My Hoyt Reading

Looks like my next stop will be the very first John Denson novel, which I just discovered sitting in my Kindle library. Time to start at the beginning and see where it all began.

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