Gun Play (Shooting Shrink)

Michael Thompkins
Sterling House Publishers (2006)
ISBN 9781563153396
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (11/07)


“Gun Play” launches the adventures of police psychologist Tom Reynolds. Tom “Doc” Reynolds is drawn into a case with his best friend Lieutenant Brett Wade of the Palm Springs Police Department.  Martin Jones, senior partner in a major Palm Springs CPA firm, is shot down by a vindictive hit man.

“Doc” Reynolds is on assignment as psychologist for the Palm Springs police department. The department uses him to provide personal, relationship and work coaching sessions counseling and for their officers. Both he and Brett are working through their own nightmares of post traumatic stress syndrome, a result of Viet Nam combat.

Bocca, a contract killer, is a former Army Ranger, a sociopath, and pathological pseudo-ego narcissist who needs to prove that he is better than anyone else. He was hired as a part of a corrupt cover-up plot. 

A young, homeless, musician Chris Parker, who wants to become the next John Lennon, becomes the center of the action when Lieutenant Wade discovers that Chris may be able to identify the hit man.

Whether commenting on the music of the 60s, the alternative music of Chris Park’s Band, Brett’s personal arsenal, or psychological evaluations, I had the sense that Thompkins was writing with a realism derived from his own personal background, professional experience, or extensive research. His descriptive writing of the desert and mountain locales of Palm Springs was breathtaking and beautiful. References to local clubs and restaurants, added a dimension of authenticity and realism. His gourmet creations whetted the appetite and gave a sense of camaraderie as his key characters bonded together in conversation and strategy planning sessions around a meal.

“Gun Play” is well written, with subtle humor, excellent reporting on crime scene procedures, and is filled with fast-moving narrative, believable characters, and entertaining, informative dialog.  This is must reading for every mystery fan.

I foresee the team of Dr. Tom Reynolds and Lieutenant Brett Wade, and their creator Michael Thompkins joining the ranks of best selling authors Jonathan Kellerman with Alex Delaware, and James Patterson and his ace Deputy Chief of Detectives, Alex Cross.

Michael Thompkins is well on the way to raising the bar on Psychological Police Novels.  “Gun Play” and “The Shooting Shrink” series will soon be a household word, discussed at every Starbucks, on the Oprah show, and on the bestseller lists.

Make comment on weblog