The First Time I Knocked, fourth in the Garnett McGee series, is a suspense/mystery about a psychologist with extra-sensory abilities who investigates crimes with her chief of police boyfriend. In this offering, Garnett and her boyfriend Ryan fly down from Vermont to New Orleans to help out her boyfriend’s ex-wife solve what appears to be an open-and-shut case. But nothing is as it seems.
A short time prior, a restaurant employee had tried to rob his place of work, and in the process, shot and killed the owner. The restaurant owner, Terry Broussard, his wife and daughter all perished with only the son Scott surviving.
The first three entries in the First Time I series were all set in Vermont, so the change of setting is welcome. Garnett is also in a more settled place in her life than the prior three novels. The first part of the novel establishes Garnett’s experiences in The Big Easy, bringing to life the culture, sights, sounds, and activities of the town. Effective humor drives the pace. The investigation at first uncovers exactly what the newspapers and police have reported—a robbery resulting in homicide. Garnett uses her abilities—by touching an object she can view a scene in the past—to gain more insight into the crime. Her first few visions confirm the events the news reported about the homicides.
Running in parallel with the investigation are questions Garnett has about herself. Consulting a woman steeped in magic, Garnett has to wonder if other encounters with (perhaps) the supernatural are real or a byproduct of her overactive imagination. Author Jo Macgregor does a wonderful job of giving enough credence to the unexplained phenomena. The climax of this conflict is truly a highlight of the novel.
The description of New Orleans, the fully realized characters, and the suspenseful scenes work in harmony to Knocked’s benefit. Using the setting effectively, the novel really shines in a scene in an archaic hotel room. This novel effectively skirts a line into another genre, in this case horror. This novel is much more than an amateur sleuth story.
The mystery is effective and plays fair. Modern novels tend to rely on one small detail that twists the ending, but Knocked’s clues all add up to one solution. While I had figured out most of the mystery, the tense climax unfolds in a gripping manner. The execution of the reveal is action packed and superb.
The First Time I… series continues its streak of mixing the supernatural with a mystery to great effect. Knocked is a worthy entry as a fourth whether you’ve read the prior three books or not. Step into both the mystery and the magic of New Orleans for this exciting read.