Review by Linda Kay Hardie
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.
I expected a mystery novel by the writer and co-executive producer of TV’s Monk series to toss me into puzzlement and action from page one. But Hy Conrad’s The Man on the Bench opens tranquilly as journalist Callie McFee begins her routine evening run through a popular park. As she approaches a park bench, she muses at how the highlight of her day has become chatting with a charming and attentive man named Barney who’s easy to talk to. Over the months, Callie has let down her guard and shared private stories of her powerful father, Buddy McFee, who until recently, was a power broker in Austin politics, known for his back room wheeling and dealing.
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Truthfully, this lack of immediate action and suspense kept me reading. Conrad draws small, lovely portraits of the characters in their small actions. Yet, within the calm and normality, he somehow tucks in tension. I can’t point to anything obvious. Callie seems to be recovering from (or falling back into?) an issue with alcohol. Plus, she and her brother (who’s named State) are exhausted from the stress of keeping their father’s latest secret: that his brain full of confidential bombshells is slipping into dementia.
In the end of the comfortable first chapter, Callie’s homicide-detective brother, after a call from work, asks why a homeless man with no identification carried her name in his pocket. Friendly Barney has been murdered, and it turns out he wasn’t a sweet, harmless old man. Worse, Callie has ample motive to want him dead, as do most of his other park friends.
The novel is full of quirky Austin characters (is that redundant?) who add depth, heart, and touches of humor to the story. Callie feels drawn to some of the other suspects, but she’s not sure who to trust. The wrong choice could be fatal.
The Man on the Bench is the third installment of the Callie McFee mysteries, but it reads very well as a standalone novel. Coming into the series cold, I never felt I was missing anything. I’ll definitely go back and read the first two books because of the hints about Callie’s and her family’s past issues. That’s going to be good reading!
I also give Hy Conrad mad props for fooling me. I’ve read thousands of mysteries and often sniff out the murderer ahead of time. Here? Nope. Masterful writing put the clues out there with no tricks, but then led me down the wrong path. Cool.
To enter to win a copy of The Man on the Bench, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "man on bench,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen June 13, 2026. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.
Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors!You can click here to purchase this book.
Linda Kay Hardie is an award-winning writer of short stories in various genres, including crime, horror, and SF/fantasy (often with humor). She also writes essays (usually about cats but sometimes baseball), poetry, and is working on longer works. Her stories appear in many anthologies, including Lunatic Fringe, Gag Me With a Spoon, A Killing at the Copa, Sex & Violins, and The Perp Wore Pumpkin from White City Press. She’s the vice president of Short Mystery Fiction Society, as well as a member of Horror Writers Association, Queer Crime Writers, Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, and Cat Writers Association. Linda Kay is an Abyssinian Rescue Ranger, a volunteer foster mom in purebred cat rescue, and a professional teddy bear builder. See her portfolio at sierraarts.org/user/linda.kay.hardie. Tune in to the podcast Misti Media Live! on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5 p.m. Pacific time/8 p.m. Eastern. Author Linda Kay Hardie joins Misti Media editor-in-chief Jay Hartman to talk, argue, and rant about writing and publishing. See more at youtube.com/watch?v=7JLJLrvP-5s
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.
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