The Unspoken: Ashe Cayne, Book 1

Ashe Cayne was forced to retire early from the Chicago Police Department because he refused to partake in a coverup involving the shooting of an innocent, unarmed black man. Now he is a PI who moonlights as a vigilante who tortures those he believes escaped justice. He is also rich, loving to dine at expensive restaurants with gorgeous women. Violet Gerrigan, the wife of a billionaire real estate mogul, hires Ashe to find her missing daughter, Tinsley. Soon afterwards, Tinsley's black boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks, Tariq "Chopper" McNair, is shot dead in an alley. Ashe's missing person case turns into a dangerous crusade for justice.Ian K. Smith is the highly successful author of several best-selling diet books. Now, in his spare time, he has turned to writing mystery novels of which "The Unspoken" is his debut. I don't know if it was mere coincidence or perfect planning, but the publication of this novel couldn't have come at a more apropos time. The Black Lives Matter Movement has become a part of our culture. Smith's brain child is a black PI, Ashe Cayne, who refused to help conceal the murder of an innocent black man. This entire backstory could have been ripped from today's headlines. At first, I liked Ashe Cayne. However, I found his brand of vigilante justice to be rather horrifying.Ashe has chosen a pedophile Catholic priest, Mark Stanton, to be the subject of his personally designed torture chamber. I've stated in other book reviews that I'm tired of reading about pedophile Catholic priests. The subject has become extremely trite. In fact, I found numerous stereotypes in Smith's novel to be rather commonplace. You have the gangsters and thugs of the South Side and the billionaire elite of the North Side. However, I liked the Romeo and Juliet relationship portrayed by Chopper and Tinsley. Chopper is a former thug who educates himself and Tinsley is the spoiled white princess who shuns rich society. In my opinion, Tinsley is a hypocrite who detests high society but enjoys the privileged lifestyle that it affords her. Likewise, Ashe desires to fight crime but has become a criminal himself. He appears to revel in the suffering he inflicts on others and eases his guilty conscience by convincing himself they deserve it.There are a few plus notes that make "The Unspoken" worth reading. First, Ashe has a crass, irreverent sense of humor. It almost gets him in trouble with Ice, a gangster from the South Side who is Chopper's uncle. Ice and his burly associates repeatedly call Ashe a wiseass. Ashe reminds me very much of best-selling author David Housewright's fictional PI, Rushmore McKenzie of the Twin Cities. Second, the mystery of Chopper's murder is a complex one that kept me in the dark until nearly the novel's end. There were some clever red herrings that deceived me. Third, the body count may be low but there is plenty of hand-to-hand combat. Many thugs are injured thanks to Ashe's hired muscle, a Polish boxer named Dmitri "Mechanic" Kowalski.Despite its flaws, Ian K. Smith's "The Unspoken" has a lot of readers talking about it. I believe this is due to its obvious connections to the Black Lives Matter Movement; the cruel, but highly creative, vigilante justice; its classic Romeo and Juliet love affair; and the fact that this novel is a perfect example of Chicago noir. You have the handsome PI or gumshoe; the evil gangsters; the rich, attractive society dames; and the gruesome, heart-wrenching murder. This novel also contains a tremendous amount of adultery. Married friends and associates are sleeping with each other. Sometimes I felt as though I was watching an afternoon soap opera. Will I read the sequel, "Wolf's Point," which is tentatively scheduled to be published in October of 2021? Probably. I have a morbid curiosity to learn who will become the next victim of Ashe's vigilante justice.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. It is exciting, mysterious and just plain worth reading. This book was well written.

Ashe is one of the good guys. He’s on the side of right and just. He can;t be bought and he has no “quit” in him. This story unwound at the right pace. The dialogue is superb. Characters are fully developed. Altogether an entertaining read.

Very captivating until the end. I am looking forward to finishing the series. A good summer read for any one.

Ashe Cayne is a former police officer who left the force after refusing to participate in a cover-up. He left with quite a settlement and good investments means that he can choose his own cases as a private investigator while still trying to improve his golf game.When Violet Gerrigan comes and asks him to look for her missing daughter Tinsley, he isn't very interested. But the more Violet tells him about Tinsley, the more his curiosity is aroused. So he begins an investigation. Soon he is led to the best friend - Hunter Morgan - who was supposed to host her friend the night she disappeared but says she didn't arrive and hasn't called to let her know why.Morgan does mention a boyfriend - Tariq "Chopper" McNair - who is the nephew of a well-known gang lord in town and who is Black and not what people from the best part of Chicago want as a son-in-law. Ashe meets Chopper who is worried about his missing girlfriend and paints a picture of a strong, lasting relationship. Soon thereafter, Chopper is found shot to death in an abandoned alley and decorated with gang marks to make it look like he was killed by a rival gang of his uncle's. Now his uncle comes to Ashe because he wants to know who killed his nephew. He has revenge in mind.The story was filled with interesting information about the city of Chicago, Chicago politics, and the activities of the very wealthy. Ashe is a smart, competent investigator who's as comfortable with gang leaders as the most wealthy in town. He is persistent and has a strong sense of justice. He is also something of a smartass.A subplot about what he does to a former priest who abused a number of boys but seemed to evade justice was jarring but understandable considering Ashe's sense of justice and dislike of bullies.I liked the sidekick characters too. Carolina provides a lot of information and seems like she'd be good girlfriend material once he finally gets over his fiance running off to Paris with another man and Mechanic is also an intriguing character.I enjoyed this story and am eager to read more of Ashe Cayne's adventures.

I loaded this book from prime since it was in a genre I go to first. I knew nothing about the author but just took a chance. I was not disappointed. I really liked the character of Ashe and his casual way of being serious. The plot moved along and had me wondering what was going to happen next. I have to admit there were a few characters who I was blank about when they came up a second time. I also wasn't too sure what was going on with the priest guy and why he was part of the story. So...there were a few holes ,confusion with streets and sections of the city, and who a few of the people were but all in all I found it interesting reading.

loved it

An excellent plot and sufficient intrigue to keep you turning the pages. Should have bedded Carolina much earlier, but I guess good guys like to do it right sometime.

Ash Cayne is Private Investigator and a former Policeman with the Chicago Police Department who is shown the door with a substantial pay-off when he refuses to collude in the covering -up of the death of a young Black man. He's unofficially assisted in his investigations by friends from his former job, the gruff and abrupt Commander Rory Burke and Administrative Supervisor Carolina Espinoza, love interest and an invaluable source of "unofficial" means of investigation. Completing the crew is Mechanic,Cayne's "muscle" and a man who makes Jack Reacher look like Bambi.Cayne is approached by Violet Cerrigan ,part of one of the richest families in Chicago whose 25 year-old daughter Tinsley has disappeared on the eve of inheriting 2 million dollars. Tinsley's boyfriend, "Chopper" is the son of one of Chicago's most notorious gang leaders. Cayne's assumptions are proved wrong when he meets Chopper and finds him to be an educated and polite young man very much in love with Tinsley who has put his past behind him. Shortly after that meeting Chopper is found dead and Cayne quickly realises that there's more to his death than the first impression of another Black man killed in a gang war.That's the build up to a very entertaining story as Cayne and his band of helpers try to find the whereabouts of the rich white girl and the killer of her black lover with the Gangsta connections.Cayne is a great character with his constant wise-cracks and literary references that usually fall on less-educated ears and make for some very funny dialogue at times. The story is well-crafted with plenty of twists and Cayne displays similar powers of deduction to Sherlock Holmes,refreshingly though he's not infallible and doesn't always get it right first time. There are plenty of interesting snippets about Chicago throughout the book as the investigations take Cayne all over the city from the gated Mansions of North Shore to places Angels fear to tread.I really enjoyed this book, there were a couple of bits of back story that didn't think contributed anything to the main narrative but that's only my opinion and I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.

'The Unspoken' is well written and plotted, and has amazing scene setting. I loved the full descriptions of Chicago and all the locations within this city. I could have read it for this information alone. It was like paying a virtual Covid restricted visit!The rich characters fully fulfilled all my own prejudices against being 'over moneyed'! The power that the possession of money gives to people with limited vision is clearly portrayed. So I also enjoyed this.My only problem was with Ashe, the narrator. His sense of justice is strong, maybe too strong. For me the sub plot was brutal. I totally, from personal experience, support holding (who, I can't say in case of plot spoiling) to account. More than support this. But not in this way.... Anyway that is just a personal view. It did put a block between me and the narrator's voice.I have had a complicated reaction to 'The Unspoken', but it is definitely worth reading. Ashe is a complex person and will appeal more to some readers than others. If there is another book, I will definitely be reading it!Just some small annoying feedback, a pedant speaks (sorry). 'Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?' was actually written by Christopher Marlowe, my favourite poet. Shakespeare was quoting from him in 'As You Like It'. Long dead as he is, Mr Marlowe deserves to be credited with his own work.

I really enjoyed the main plot. Writing was enjoyable and characters good. The sub plot was utterly disturbing, to the point that I thought 'aha, this is a different character' (both written in first person). But no - turns out the same person, which means the charming, urbane, PI also had a very very dark side in the name of justice (to the point of buying a separate house in which to dispense it to someone he has captured). Really quite odd. No interaction with the main plot so it would be possible just to skip past it - and would recommend that you do, unless you like gory psychological thrillers. A real shame.