Bad Optics by Joseph Heywood: A review

This is the eleventh book in this series set in Michigan and featuring Conservation Officer Grady Service. I haven't read all of them, but I have read and enjoyed several.

This one finds Service at loose ends, having been suspended from his job. His crime had been teaming up with a rather notorious lawbreaker (poacher Limpy Allerdyce) in order to stop poachers and other violators of the deer hunting laws. But Service is incapable of just sitting around and so he continues patrolling his territory, the Mosquito Wilderness Area, voluntarily and unofficially.

Grady resents what he feels is the unfairness of his suspension and he begins to suspect that there is something rotten in Lansing that may be behind it all. He is a stubborn man and he is determined to get to the bottom of what he sees as political shenanigans. 

Once again he enlists the aid of Limpy and his fellow Vietnam vet and game warden Luticious Treebone. (You have to love these names!) Their investigation determines that someone is trying to illegally commercialize the Mosquito and Grady realizes that the wilderness he loves and protects could be destroyed if he doesn't stop them.

These are quirky and memorable characters and they are a lot of fun to read about. There's nothing particularly deep or complicated about the story. It is generally well-written but doesn't tax the brain so I would characterize it as a good read for a hot summer day. 
 

Comments

  1. Sam August 30, 2023 at 11:24 AM

    If nothing else, I really like the title of this one because of how that phrase is applied to so many things during these days of such a harshly divided political system in this country. I'll have to take a look at this author because our summer doesn't seem likely to end anytime soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thecuecardAugust 30, 2023 at 1:46 PM

    Yeah stopping poaching is always a good plot point. And those names: ha Treebone and Limpy?! Hope they can stop the bad guys.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lark September 2, 2023 at 4:58 PM

    Luticious Treebone is such an awesome name! This series sounds like it's a fun one.

    ReplyDelete

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