Stephen Winn knows how to spin a captivating murder mystery. His old school style writing has the allure of ‘gum shoe’ detective nuance sprinkled throughout. Main character Mackenzie Sampson is a guy’s guy and there is an affectionate twist throughout the way Mr. Winn shares the spotlight when showcasing the relationship between Mack and his beloved dog ‘Woof.’ While Winn doesn’t come right out and paint character Mack as a full-blown alcoholic, there are subtleties throughout the read toward Mack’s struggle with alcohol and prescription drugs and his personal reasoning of why it’s okay for him to do so: "...Alcohol hadn’t eased the repetitive anxiety attacks, so he also began popping Xanax like candy. His two growing addictions ended up ruining his professional life—a stellar career with Boston Homicide..." Winn has blended a diverse cast of characters among Mack’s firm with Paula (‘Paul’), M and himself who are likened to a group of misfits who are conversely quite good at their respective contributions. Paula is the office administrator and it’s clear she is the glue. M is the martial arts ‘enforcer’ who keeps things safe in his stealth way and Mack is the charisma who can land the business. The pace is at a great clip from start to finish and the dialogue is credible. Simply put, Mr. Winn has crafted an engaging read and I can only hope he is working on the next in this detective series.

Quill says: Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, Don’t Look Back will throw you a curve ball when you least expected it!