A King of Infinite Space

A King of Infinite Space Long Beach Homicide #1 (2010) By: Tyler Dilts

Impressions
Elizabeth Williams, an English teacher at Warren High School, is stabbed numerous times in her classroom. A task force is formed with Detectives Danny Beckett and Jen Tanaka on the case. Danny soon learns of a connection between Beth and his late wife. Their suspects include the landlord, a Russian mobster, her ex-boyfriend and her father, a retired air force colonel.

The things that set A King of Infinite Space apart from other police procedural are some engaging characters and the Long Beach setting brought to life. The murders are grisly and their aftermaths are described in disturbing detail. Unlike most police dramas I've seen, where the plethora of suspects have lots of motive or evidence, this novel operates on a lack of clear motive until the end. This had the effect of obscuring the true killer for me on my first read shortly after it came out. On my second read, I focused much more on enjoying the development of Danny and Jen's relationship which is the far better tale.

Our Heroes
Danny Beckett is a severely depressed Long Beach homicide detective trying to get over the death of his wife in a car accident eighteen months prior to this case. I though that a depressed hard-drinking detective would be more difficult to relate to, but Danny's insight and humor surmount his periods of depression. Danny's connection of Beth to his wife only deepens as he learns more about the suspects and how he relates to them.

Jen Tanaka is Danny's marital arts expert partner who teaches a class for at risk teens. She tries to help ease Danny out of his funk. She is also concerned about one of her teens not coming to class. It is nice to see an ass-kicking woman not overly sexualized. She also allows for some touching moments that give Danny much needed humanity.

Related Observers
Rachel Williams is Beth's sister. She starts off as little help due to her coming apart after the loss of her sister. However, she has more to offer toward the end when some interesting history comes to light.

D.J. Waxler is the son of one of the suspects and a real punk. This leaves him open for Detective Tanaka to bring him down to his proper place.

Scattered Suspects
Harlan Gibbs is the old man who rented Beth her apartment. He is a retired cop and would have the knowhow to fool the detectives, plus he admits to liking Beth more than he should have.

Daryl Waxler is a wealthy businessman and Beth's ex-boyfriend. He seems like you average milksop, but is he really the grief stricken man he seems?

Yevgeny Tropov is a Russian gangster who has a similar M.O. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any clear ties to the butchered teacher.

Colonel Williams is Beth's estranged father. He is a distinguished air force career man, but like many powerful men, he has some skeletons in his closet.

Long Beach Atmosphere
This novel shows you a side of long beach not seen in the raps of Snoop Dogg or the numerous films and television shows that pretend it's Miami. This is the Long Beach of someone who's lived there for years. This realism helps get the reader immersed especially if you're familiar with the area. This is among the strongest points of the novel.

In the End
The end is less about finding out who did it and more about Danny getting some closure. What I didn't find satisfying about the killer himself was more than made up for by a satisfying end for Danny and Jen.

Overall
This is a solid detective story with some nice nods to great literature. This is unsurprising from an English teacher. It blends a realistic scenes with interesting characters to follow. The issues are minor. I got a little confused telling apart the other detectives besides Dave Zepeda, the precinct clown, on my first read. I've also heard that reader who come strictly for the "whodunit" aspect come away unsatisfied. However, I highly recommend this novel, especially if you enjoy cop dramas that focus on the detectives or have spent some time in the Long Beach-Orange County area.
9/10
Buy it here and support a great writer and teacher! Next up, I continue with Danny Beckett in: The Pain Scale!