Holding Smoke by Steph Post.

Polis Books, 2020

ISBN-13: 978-194799388

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

Very few authors succeed in producing the slow burn thriller with a story that culminates in a fiery treasure. Holding Smoke is one of those literary treats that fulfills on the buildup and strong characters.

Monster Librarian interviewed Steph Post a year ago about her stellar standalone novel Miraculum, which cemented her status as one of the brightest stars in the mystery and thriller genres. She returns to conclude her Judah Cannon trilogy here, bringing it to a close in a blaze of glory. This is pure, dark noir. Steeped in rural Florida, the setting is so authentic, the oppressive humidity nearly fills the lungs.

Readers do not need to have read the first two books, Lightwood and Walk in the Fire, but it’s recommended to grasp the scope of this mesmerizing story of a family mired in tragedy and crime. Judah is released from prison to the waiting arms of his girlfriend, Ramey, to walk the crooked trail that the Cannon family has tread for several years. Somehow, the charges against Judah and his family have disappeared, the murders behind him, yet he remains wary with every step he takes.

Judah and his brothers, Levi and Benji, find themselves pulled into a heist that might set them free or sink them deeper into a spiraling life of crime in the Florida panhandle.

Sister Tulah, the charismatic antagonist with scores to settle, nearly steals the show here as the enigmatic, and possible sociopathic leader of a Pentecostal Church. Her swampland schemes and pulpit theatrics show off a charismatic antagonist. Brother Felton, who disappeared into the swamp, has emerged a changed man after a spiritual encounter that guides him back to Tulah’s fold.

Judah walks through the scenes a conflicted man, not a hero yet far from a villain, a piece of a crumbling family aiming to find salvation before their luck runs out. His journey, from the first book through the finale, has been a pleasure to devour.

A solid character study where nobody is truly innocent, Holding Smoke is filled with people who breathe life into a crime novel that builds upon itself, page by page. Post doesn’t waste one sentence, nor a character, even if he or she lives for a brief moment. This is how crime noir is done, classic in tone but with a modern flair.

If you haven’t cracked open a book by this author, start here and enjoy the smooth writing that stands with the giants of the genre.

Highly recommended reading for 2020.

Reviewed by David Simms