The Savage Kind: A Mystery (Nightingale Trilogy, 1) Hardcover – October 5, 2021

The Savage Kind by John Copenhaver is more than a mystery and more than a thriller. It’s a coming of age story. It’s a story about first loves. It’s about finding your proper reflection when the world sees you all wrong. It’s about growing up, growing old and parenting. It’s about the different forms of family. But mostly it’s about identity and belonging. The Savage Kind is The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with extra layers of noir twists. Do not miss this first in a trilogy!

Although The Savage Kind is only the second published crime novel of John Copenhaver, it shows that he is already a master of the genre, something that was also earlier demonstrated by his first: Dodging and Burning. Copenhaver has the gift of breathing life into his main characters as well as the supporting ones. It might be an exaggeration to say that Washington D.C. after the Second World War also becomes a character in the story, but he does bring it vividly to life. The intricate plotting demanded and held my attention and I found that the deeper I got into the story, the more difficult it became to put the book down. Thus, the last chapters kept me up long after my usual bedtime. This was a thrilling read and I look forward to more by this gifted young writer!

I loved Copenhaver's latest novel and am delighted that it's the first of a planned trilogy. Judy and Philippa's evolving relationship as they attempt to solve a 40's noir mystery made for a gripping read that kept me guessing until the end. Judy and Philippa are compelling main characters, yet all the characters are richly drawn and nuanced. This novel is full of noir mystery atmosphere, and the literary allusions are powerful. All these elements result in a thought provoking and thoroughly enjoyable story. I look forward to continuing Judy and Philippa's journey - soon, I hope!

I can't help wishing this book were written in a less clunky style. Unless the author was trying to imitate the awkward usage of two high school girls with intellectual pretensions, words like"accusatorially" (what's wrong with accusingly?) and phrases like"arched her eyes" (what does that look like?) were jarring enough to distract me from the story. Not to mention the anachronisms - people did not "vent" their feelings in the 1940s, nor did they wear a "backpack" - it would have been called a knapsack or rucksack and would certainly not have been red. I'm nitpicking, but why write a period piece unless you're willing to do the research?

The Savage Kind is worth every delightful moment. I’m not sure how he manages to capture the ethos of teen friendships, thought patterns, insecurities and love but he does so beautifully. Understanding oneself and the intricate web of past, present and future was beautifully explored in this riveting mystery. The character development was delicious and the plot keeps you wanting more and more.

I enjoyed being on a panel with John at the Greensboro Bound book festival. We had a lot to talk about, as his book and mine (In the Lonely Backwater) focus on girls becoming women and testing the bonds of love and gender, family and loyalty. How do you become yourself when the culture around you says you're doing it all wrong? I loved the historic setting and the rich, noir feel to this twisty mystery.

I liked this book until I got to about 80% through it, then it started to drag. Also, I began to feel that the wheels had come off the plot and things became a little unbelievable. The author writes well and the characters are well drawn and interesting, but the plot just didn't hold together for me in the end. I can understand that some or most readers won't be disturbed by how the plot veers, but for me it was disappointing.

I can’t claim to have many Facebook friends who have had a hardcover book published by a major publishing house. In fact, John Copenhaver may be the only one with a current book. John was co-host of Alan Warren’s House of Mystery Radio Show the night I was interviewed about my true-crime book. Thus, I’ve made it a point to order each of his first two novels as soon as they’re published. “The Savage Kind,” his latest, follows in the steps of “Dodging and Burning” as an excellent read. Copenhaver again has multiple characters telling the story chronologically in the first person, in this case two teen-age girls in the late 1940s who defy their parents and police by investigating the murders of a teacher and a classmate. Copenhaver’s writing style in this book is superior to most of the commercial fiction I read. The mystery is a little slow to develop, but when it does, the twists and turns come quickly.