Reading Corner | Warren scores another winner with ‘Parliament Men’

“The Parliament Men” is the newest in Peter F. Warren’s series featuring retired state trooper Paul Waring and his Georgetown County law enforcement friends.

I have been a fan of this series since “Confederate Gold and Silver” and “The Horry County Murders.” These books introduce us to Warren’s hero, Waring, a retired state trooper from Connecticut who becomes friendly with local law enforcement and is drawn into a quest for confederate treasure and solving crimes. Subsequent books enlarge the role of Donna, the protagonist’s wife, and in this novel, we see a wider role for female police officer Lt. Audrey Small, who works for the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Department Major Case Squad’s Cpt. Bobby Ray Jenkins (also Waring’s close friend).

Warren knows his police procedures. Like his protagonist, Warren is a retired Connecticut state trooper and lives in Pawleys Island with his wife, Debbie. As with his other books, Warren is great on characterization, plot and dialogue, and I love the way he establishes and builds the camaraderie between and among his characters.

In addition, no matter how tough the crimes, Warren always writes with respect. He knows how to convey horror and mayhem without resorting to bad language or graphic detail. He can horrify us without gore. The crime that opens this book is a horrible one — the death of a group of young men sharing a house, murdered and found in a burned house. The death toll climbs to five, and Waring, despite wanting to stay out of things, is drawn into the investigation once more at the behest of his local crime-fighting friends because of his experience.

The relationships are natural and a welcome change from so many books that pit the Northerner and Southerner against one another. In addition, in this volume, Warren increases the role of Waring’s wife, Donna, in helping to solve the crime. Although he is retired, his wife works as a bank manager and, as such, is in a good position to gather information. Their own relationship is also a help since Donna provides an intelligent and thoughtful sounding board and source of advice for hero Waring.

The first chapter, a sort of prologue, was a bit confusing to me. It is meant to convey the state of mind of the perpetrator but somehow does not fit well with the rest of the book. From then on, it is smooth sailing into the well-structured plot. If you are already a fan, you will gloss over these missteps, but don’t start with this one if you have not read Warren’s works before. Although the story can stand on its own, you will get a better idea of Warren’s craftsmanship as a writer by starting with “Confederate Gold and Silver.”

Once you get through those first few pages, though, the book moves well and, once again, to a conclusion that satisfies the needs of a reader with regard to the issues presented for this book. It also opens the way to another novel. I look forward to the next adventure in the series.

Joan Leotta, For The Sun News

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Reading Corner | Warren scores another winner with ‘Parliament Men’."