The Weight of Regret is a PI Mystery. Against his better judgement, Steve Rockfish attends his 40th high school reunion. But the past holds more bad memories than good, more adversaries than friends, and more regrets than delights. Somewhere deep within the folds of time, a murderer lurks and the blast from the past is painted blood red. Now on the case, Rockfish hunts for a killer, while the killer hunts for Rockfish.
Bottom line: The Weight of Regret is for you if you like stories of unforeseen consequences
An excerpt of the scene that opens it up is available on Mysteries to Die For at https://m2d4podcast.com/toe-tags-2/
Some time ago, I had a conversation with David Housewright (Mac McKenzie series) about mysteries as literature that documents the modern experience. Having gone back and recently read “The Maltese Falcon”, “Kiss Me, Deadly” and others from the first half of the 20th century, there is no doubt that well crafted mysteries tell the stories of day-to-day habits, technology, and political climates without talking directly about any of these. The Weight of Regret, as well as the others in this series, does exactly that.
On the surface, we have a good, old fashioned murder mystery with a financial scam side story. Beneath, though, are modern themes of elder fraud, mental health, and the unintended consequences of trying to be one of the crowd. It is especially poignant reading it in May, which is mental health month where one of the priorities is destigmatizing a common affliction.
Steve Rockfish and his partner Jawnie McGee are joined by retired Baltimore police captain Dan Decker to investigate a vicious murder during Steve’s high school reunion, the phishing scheme that left a little old lady $30k poorer, and consulting on security readiness for a high tech company. The addition of a third partner, and thus third storyteller, adds bulk and depth to the story, expanding the dynamic from the prior books.
My favorite aspect of The Weight of Regret is the pacing. The different storytellers, multiply storylines, and depth to which the characters are invested combined to make this a page turner.
Series lovers, this one is ready for you. The Weight of Regret is the 4th and final book in the Rockfish and McGee series. I have read most of them and do recommend beginning with book one. The cases are separate, but the character origins are such a large part of the magic of the series that to miss a little is to miss a lot.
TG Wolff 