Crime Writer by Vinnie Hansen
9/9/25; 303 pages
Level Best Books
Crime Writer by Vinnie Hansen is a recommended thriller set in the California coast city of Playa Maria.
Zoey Kozinski is with Officer Austin from the local police department on a ride-along when a routine traffic stop turns deadly. Officer Austin is shot and Zoey as the only witness, calls it in on the police radio. A good Samaritan, Jimmy, stops just before help arrives and both Zoey and Jimmy are detained and questioned. Zoey is looked at with more suspicion when pages from the book she is try to write are found in the police vehicle. Her living situation on an illegal cannabis farm with no address doesn't help. When she notices someone who might be following her, she's rightfully nervous.
The shooter, whose car had stolen plates on it and was full of illegal substances, is ordered by his boss to clean up his mess and take care of the eye witness. He finds Zoey's name in the news account of the shooting and begins looking for her. At the same time, the officer’s widow is angry and claims Zoey's ride-along was a distraction.
What follows is a cat and mouse game as Zoey evades someone she doesn't know while suffering from writer's block, and making numerous bad decisions. The short chapters are mainly from Zoey's point-of-view, with some from the antagonists. The opening and end of the novel are engrossing and compelling, but the majority of the plot drags while jumping from one thing to another. For me, Zoey was an annoying character from start to finish which also made it a challenge to be invested in the narrative.
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