Radio Static by Nicky James

Narrated by Nick J. Russo

Nicky James has become one of my favourite authors over the past couple of years, her well-structured stories featuring complex, well-drawn characters and – usually – mid-to-high levels of angst – have made her a must read. Radio Static is a standalone romantic mystery (originally published in 2021) in which two single dads in their forties (together with their teenaged son and daughter) become embroiled in the mystery surrounding a decades-old disappearance. This is very much an amateur sleuth story in which the characters sometimes do things that made me facepalm, but which Jessica Fletcher and her ilk of cosy TV detectives would probably do without batting an eyelid! So it’s worth bearing that that in mind before jumping in – these guys aren’t Valor and Doyle with guns, badges and all their experience of detective work to call on.

Nova Charrette and his sixteen-year-old son, Cooper, are on their way to the remote cabin his family has owned for years by the lake near the small town of Drysdale. Nova hasn’t been there for around twenty-five years, since he was eighteen, but has decided that its remote location with its range of activities (swimming, fishing, hiking etc.) and lack of wifi and mobile connectivity is just the place for him to spend a bit of time reconnecting with Cooper – who lives with his mother – before it’s too late and Cooper heads off to college. Cooper isn’t impressed when Nova tells him there’s no wifi or 4g, and scoffs at the idea that a month without Spotify and Netflix is going to be “fun”. Trying to rally him, Nova suggests he try to find the local music station on the jeep’s radio, but all he can find is a bunch of static – until suddenly, the radio crackles to life and they hear a rough, gravelly voice rambling about the murder, thirty years before, of a young woman named Vivian Malone, and how it’s been covered up. Nova vaguely remembers hearing about Vivian’s disappearance when he was a teen, but nothing more – and wonders if what they’d heard was a talk show or a true crime podcast.

Mercedes – known as Mercy – Reed is vacationing at the lake with his fourteen-year-old daughter, Raelynn, who is delighted at the prospect of having a neighbour close to her own age, while her dad is cursing fate for plopping a teenaged boy in the closest cabin to theirs. Then he sees the boy’s dad – his ruggedly gorgeous dad and… yeah, fate definitely hates him right now. He knows he’s probably being ridiculously over-protective, but he can’t help it (as the mother of daughters, I know where he’s coming from!), although Nova coming over to introduce himself with a beer as a peace-offering does help to calm him a bit, and they chat for a while while the kids swim in the lake before Nova calls Cooper back to the cabin to help unpack. There’s a subtle, but definitely there spark of attraction hanging in the air between them, although neither offers any information about their kids’ mothers so it’s just going to have to be left ‘hanging’.

Until, that is, Cooper says that Rae has told him about her family situation, that Mercy is gay but wanted kids so his best friend offered to have a baby for him. This is good – if slightly inconvenient – news for Nova, who has always known he’s bisexual but isn’t out and who, since his divorce, has found his tastes running more to men than women. He’s definitely attracted to Mercy and would like to get to know him more, but that would mean coming out to Cooper and, well, he’s not sure he’s ready for that yet.

The first twenty percent of the book sets up the relationship between the two men really well as they spend time talking and walking and getting to know each other and the chemistry between them starts to heat up. The scene is set beautifully; the remote lakeside setting is vividly described so as to put the listener right there – and the relationships between the two dads and their kids are superbly written. Cooper and Rae come off as real teens who speak and act their ages rather than as old-before-their-time relationship sounding-boards who are matchmaking for their dads.

Then, all hell breaks loose and the mystery kicks into gear. Nova is abruptly woken one night by the sound of Rae screaming, and when he wakes to find Cooper gone, he can’t help his mind jumping immediately to the worst case scenario, even though he knows – he knows – Cooper couldn’t possibly have done anything to hurt Rae. He and Mercy each rush around the lake to meet at the point the screams are coming from to find Cooper holding tightly onto a still screaming Rae. Tempers are hot and accusations are flung around before Nova and Mercy realise exactly what caused Rae’s terror. There’s a body floating at the edge of the lake.

The dead woman is later identified as Clarice Dumont, a resident of Drysdale who had gone missing nearly a week earlier, but when the police rule her death as accidental, Nova and Mercy don’t believe it. Why would someone who has been missing for six days decide to go for a late-night swim back near the home town she supposedly left? And even if she did, how did she get there? The only vehicles at the cabins are Nova’s and Mercy’s, and her body definitely hadn’t been floating in the lake before Cooper and Rae found it. Discovering that Clarice had been best friends with Vivian, the missing teen from 1994, convinces them there’s definitely more going on than meets the eye, and with the police wanting to tie everything up in a nice, easy bow, the only way to get to the bottom of Clarice’s death – and possibly, Vivian’s disappearance – will be for Nova and Mercy to do some investigating of their own.

The mystery in the story is really intriguing with a clever twist in the tail, but as I said at the outset, I did have to question Nova and Mercy’s decision-making a few times, especially given that they know that they’re likely putting their kids in harm’s way, but do it anyway. If you can get past that and the slightly Scooby-Doo-ish nature of the ‘amateur detective’ story (there’s one moment when I really thought someone was going to say “and I’d have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for you pesky kids!”), then Radio Static is a solidly entertaining listen, with a clever mystery and a nicely-developed romance that has the feel of a slow-burn. Nova and Mercy are likeable and feel very human in their fears and insecurities surrounding their parenting – they both try hard to do right by their kids and for the most part, they’re doing a good job, although Mercy does need to realise he’s entitled to a life (and love), too. I’m not normally a big fan of kids in romances, but Cooper and Rae are extremely well-written and their vibrant personalities add a lot to the story.

Nick J. Russo is an extremely talented narrator and someone I know I can always depend on to deliver a well-characterised and expressive performance, and he’s on top form here. There’s a fairly large secondary cast, and all the characters are clearly and expertly differentiated so that they’re easily identifiable, and the same is true of the leads, Mercy’s lighter and softer tone a good contrast to Nova’s deeper, gruff (slight) drawl. I was really impressed with Mr. Russo’s portrayals of the two teens, and Cooper especially – not only has he got the tone and timbre of his voice just right, he gives us a real sense that here’s a boy on the cusp of becoming a young man in the way he conveys Cooper’s emotions through his dialogue and actions. The emotional content of the story is brilliantly brought to life as well – there are some really raw moments here, and Mr. Russo delivers them perfectly.

I enjoyed Radio Static, even though the story is not without its flaws. It’s an entertaining listen featuring engaging characters and a well-done romance, and the mystery kept me guessing. Add in the excellent performance from Nick J. Russo, and it earns a solid recommendation.

Caz

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Buy Radio Static by Nicky James on Amazon