If you’re like me the first mystery that needs solving about mystery novels is who actually reads them? There’s this huge market for them and they always contain the same things: a gruesomely engrossing premise that hooks the reader, a detective with a chip on his or her shoulder, a flirtation with a tough-as-nails superior officer, lots of red herring suspects and a final surprise twist. And while you’d think the public would tire of the format, the opposite is the case.

I haven’t been following the career of Toronto investigator Jonah Geller so, for me, High Chicago is kind of like reading his blog. Apparently he’s opened his own agency and is investigating the suicide of a young woman and how it’s connected to a construction deal near the city’s waterfront. After that I can’t tell you what happens because the book’s publisher would put me in cement shoes if I did.

What I can tell you is that what’s on the page is easy to read, the pace is friendly on the brain, and the characters’ motivations always make sense (bonus points for some surprising character nuance and quirk). I’m sure it’s enough for the faithful reader-clients of Mr. Geller and the market for these books will remain strong. Suffice to say that as far as mysteries go, “High Chicago” has a lot going for it. Is it literature-lite? Of course. Is it genre-friendly? Yes, it is. And those are all good things. The book is proof that people are investing time and effort in characters; that in our internet age good mysteries are keeping them reading books at all. — Paperjam