Reader reviews were mixed for Ian K. Smith’s novel that introduces Ashe Cayne, The Unspoken. I suspect it will be the same for the second in the series, Wolf Point. And, I can agree with readers who had issues with Smith’s writing, as well as those who loved it. Wolf Point could have used tighter editing. There’s way too much description of Chicago. Ashe Cayne’s involvement with an earlier murder startled me out of his current case at times, because it seemed unnecessary. But, I did enjoy following his case because I’m a sucker for a PI novel.

Ashe Cayne was once a detective in the Chicago Police Department, but he couldn’t stand by and watch a cover-up. He was kicked out, but received a couple million dollars in a settlement. He has a reputation in Chicago as someone who doesn’t give a damn about the politics in the city, and he’s not afraid to dig for the truth no matter where it takes him.

Walter Griffin, Sr. was a legend in Chicago city politics until two years ago when he committed suicide at Wolf Point. But, Griffin’s wife and adult children don’t believe he killed himself. His children hire Ashe Cayne to prove their father was murdered, and to find the killer. He warns them it won’t be easy. There are a number of people who would want such a powerful man dead. On the other hand, Walter gave back to communities, and there are a number of South Side residents who don’t believe the suicide verdict, including Ashe’s own father.

For three months, Ashe Cayne puts his golf addiction on the back burner and digs into Walter Griffin’s past. The family is convinced someone connected to the mayor, if not the mayor himself, ordered Walter killed. Cayne’s case takes him into the politics of the Chicago Public Schools, the homes of the wealthy and connected in Chicago, as well as gyms and headquarters for the men who launder money and control the drug trade in the city. At one point, his entire case is upended. But, he keeps digging until he’s able to tell Griffin’s family the truth.

I liked Ashe Cayne. I liked his reasons for investigating this case, and the other one he sees to a conclusion. “This was about the victims and their families, who no longer had a voice and whom the system had let down so egregiously.” He’s dogged, and he’s not going to give up until he’s satisfied with the answers. But, honestly? The book could have been tightened which would have made it a little faster-paced. Of course, I like to follow the case. But, at times I felt as if I was following it for the entire three months.

Wolf Point by Ian K. Smith. Thomas & Mercer, 2021. ISBN 9781542027861 (hardcover), 348p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I reviewed the .PDF for a journal.