Meet Homicide Detective Lucas Nash in Michael Murphy’s ‘The Halo Conspiracy’ [REVIEW]

May 25, 2021 by 2 Comments

Man with gun in back of his jeans — Handsome and divorced, Lucas Nash isn’t your typical homicide detective. (Photo courtesy Canva)

A brilliant doctor found dead in the middle of his lab. A beautiful intern on the run for her life. There’s something hinky about the tech company they both work for, and a tenacious homicide detective named Lucas Nash is determined to find out what it is in author Michael Murphy’s new futuristic thrill ride, The Halo Conspiracy.

Michael Murphy's THE HALO CONSPIRACY — Michael Murphy

In 2038, the world may not look entirely foreign to a casual observer from 2021, but it is certainly a lot more technologically advanced than it used to be. In-home A.I. and self-driving automobiles are everywhere, but that doesn’t keep Nash from reminiscing about the good old days. In his mid-thirties, the handsome detective likes his police work the way he likes his movies: old-fashioned.

Don’t get me wrong. Although Nash may be a luddite, it doesn’t mean that he’s completely averse to using tech in the field. He does rely on the car to get him where he’s going and he isn’t afraid to pull out night vision glasses to help him see what some of his suspects are up to when they arrive at the deceased’s home with a moving truck in the middle of the night. But that is how Nash rolls, he’s nothing if not a series of contradictions.

For example, he knows that he should watch his back and be wary of anyone involved in the case, and yet he brings a beautiful young intern named Rachel home with him when it becomes apparent that she may be in trouble. At the same time, he doesn’t want to be followed, and yet when a tracking device is found on his vehicle, he leaves it there rather than destroying it. But these idiosyncrasies compile to teach readers not to think they understand Nash too fast.

But Murphy does more than use deft characterization to ratchet up the suspense. He also raises the body count, leaving Nash to studiously examine his suspect list and try to figure out who the assassin may be. Could it be Rachel or the goons fiercely protecting the company where the doctor worked? Or perhaps its the crazed religious zealot who preaches about the evils of modern science.

The Halo Conspiracy is a detective novel that may be set in the future, but it utilizes the best tools in a contemporary writer’s arsenal: dark humor, easy wit, charming characters, and plenty of red herrings. The story moves along at a breezy pace, and coming in at less than 300 pages, it jumps into the story’s action from page one. The result is a book that is engaging, suspenseful, and laugh-out-loud funny in places.

Nash is also a sympathetic hero. He’s smart, shrewd, and observant. He’s also divorced, lives alone except for his faithful canine companion, and he doesn’t maintain the best relationship with his neighbors. But those traits humanize him, as does his snark, which makes me chuckle throughout the book. If you are looking for a brand new series to start, this is one bound to keep readers engaged for years to come.