Vengeance for a heartless, bloody killing provides the focus of El Camino Drive, a well-staged drama deftly drawn by novelist Edward Izzi.
Johnny Valentino is a police detective struggling with major issues that could cost him his job. For one thing, he’s an alcoholic, and haunted by the murder, some forty years ago, of his father Antonio, who was dispatched by three guys who’d trapped him on El Camino Drive. When he pulled a plastic water gun on them, they claimed to panic, and he was shot multiple times. No motive was evident at the time; their thin defense stuck and none were jailed for the crime.
Now, rehabbing himself with therapy sessions and AA, Johnny discovers that blood-spattered toy gun in the attic, along with other clues to what happened on that fateful night. He nearly loses himself in the bottle again, but recovers enough to be reinstated by his older mentor, Officer Riley.
Suddenly, revenge killings begin; by the spring of 2020, several people involved in Antonio’s killing have been savagely murdered. At each crime scene are two bizarre reminders: a plastic water pistol and a verse of poetry referencing the long-ago killing. Johnny has alibis for every occurrence, but that can’t stop some hardened cops on the case from treating him as a prime suspect – until one last crime convinces even those diligent detectives that the real “water pistol killer” has been found and will kill no more. But Johnny isn’t so sure.
In this work, Izzi has constructed a compelling lead character in Johnny Valentino, whose fine detective’s instincts assure him that the crime spree that has held him and his family in its grip has not truly been resolved – and it may never be. Izzi is a practiced writer (A Rose from the Executioner, Quando Dormo) and it shows, who here delves into his favorite realms: violent crime, revenge, punishment, and the inner workings of the big city inhabited by colorful, culturally sculpted characters. It is a world in which cops can be as bad as robbers, and it can be hard to tell them apart without Izzi’s complicated playbook. But good will always triumph, even if the heroes may go unacknowledged at times.
Izzi masterfully juggles the many plot elements, so the reader is gripped by the mystery along with the eminently engaging and sympathetic protagonist. One way that this is accomplished is through using both first and third person throughout the story. We see the world through Johnny’s eyes as he struggles with his personal demons, seeks to be an ideal dad despite his failings, and reconciles, almost, with his former love. While he puzzles over the dangling strands of the investigation into the killing of his father’s killers, we are also shown what is happening outside his scope of observation, as the former, cold-blooded murderers are stalked and struck down one by one, in a perfect, eerily gory vindication of their former evil deeds.
The result is a page-turning, action-laden mystery that is sure to garner Izzi an even larger fan base, and could call for a sequel.
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