The Abduction of Patient Zero

Mancuso & Father O'Brian Crime Mystery Book 6

Fiction - Mystery - Murder
275 Pages
Reviewed on 01/29/2020
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Jessica Barbosa for Readers' Favorite

Owen Parr’s The Abduction of Patient Zero is book six of the Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mystery series. Joey Mancuso’s professional and personal lives overlapped when critical evidence from his latest case painted his wife, Special Agent Marcy Martinez, as the suspect. It was clear to Joey Mancuso that Marcy was being falsely incriminated, but who would do it and why? At first, Thomas Lyons, Marcy’s missing partner, was the main suspect, but this small lead was quashed when he was eventually found shot in the face. The case became more complex and Joey Mancuso found himself tangled in a web of lies, secrets, and espionage. He and his colleagues do all they can to prove Marcy’s innocence but that may be easier said than done.

The Abduction of Patient Zero was an intriguing, fast-paced, and well-thought-out piece. The novel opened with a captivating first chapter: there is a new case and Captain Johnson of New York’s Midtown South Precinct called Joey Mancuso to the scene. Right from the start there was already trouble but it was only a prelude of the storm to come. Parr did an excellent job of hooking my attention deeper into the book. He created a few twists and turns that had me glued to every page. With every dead end and clues Mancuso found, I felt like I was alongside him and his team as they tried to clear a good woman’s name. Joey Mancuso’s sense of urgency, frustration, and worry as he ingeniously tried to clear his wife of suspicion made the entire plot much more believable and the book played out like a movie in my head. The author did an outstanding job creating this murder mystery because, aside from the exciting and clever plot, he developed unique characters that brought even more depth to an already impressive story. This is definitely a book that I enjoyed reading in one sitting and I felt sad when I finished it. I definitely wanted more!

K.C. Finn

The Abduction of Patient Zero is a work of thrilling crime mystery penned by author Owen Parr. Forming the sixth novel in the Joey Mancuso and Father O’Brian Crime Mystery series, the action this time is set in Joey’s own back yard, as it were, when his wife Marcy becomes the central figure as people are murdered all around her. The IDs on the victims reveal that nobody is who they say they are, and much espionage and falseness are at play. Amongst the in-fighting of the official agencies, our hired PI team of half-brothers must investigate and clear Marcy’s name before she’s either jailed by the do-gooders or murdered by the baddies.

Fans of crime and murder mystery novels will find everything that they seek in this exceedingly well-developed and multi-layered novel. There are elements of the classic detective and New York PI genres peppered throughout, not least in the presentation of Joey Mancuso and his distinctive personality and style of deduction. But there’s also plenty of police procedural to add to the gritty, realistic feel of the tale and keep it grounded, which in turn produces some very intriguing espionage elements and FBI mysteries that give the plot an added layer of suspense and tension. Thrilling from start to finish, author Owen Parr has a flair for clever dialogue-style exposition that keeps the plot moving without bombarding his audience. Overall, The Abduction of Patient Zero is a high-quality mystery read recommended for crime fans across the genre’s vast expanse of tastes.

Lit Amri

Owen Parr is back with Book 6 of the Joey Mancuso, Father O’Brian Crime Mystery series; The Abduction of Patient Zero. A man was shot dead point-blank in the face at Washington Square Park. The victim is identified as a 44-year-old retired US Army Major Oscar Stanton. However, Major Oscar Stanton was reportedly killed in Afghanistan in 2012. Special Agent Marcy Martinez -Joey's wife-and her partner, Agent Tom Lyons, are implicated in the case until authorities find Lyons's body stuffed in a janitor’s closet at a subway station. With Marcy’s hands testing positive for gunshot residue and crucial evidence found in her car, all fingers start to point to her and Joey is livid. With the help of his associates, Joey is racing against the clock to clear his wife's name in an intricate case that involves powerful entities.

The gang is back! It's good to see the tough but lovable "face of the pub" Mr. Pat and the genius hacker Agnes including other recurring characters. All is not well though, as the tension between Marcy and Joey resonates early through the pages, no thanks to a murder case that caught the pair off guard. Owen Parr deftly rattles readers with a crisis in the beginning, with one of my favorite characters, Agent Martinez, being gradually scapegoated. The question is why? Luckily, Joey's half-brother, Father Dom, and his friends are always there to help. The plot is well-developed and has Parr’s usual fast-paced style. As expected, the element of humor blends in seamlessly without disrupting the intrigue and suspense of the story. All in all, fans of the series will enjoy this sixth installment, The Abduction of Patient Zero, and its standalone nature will attract newcomers who love solid P.I. mystery novels.