Image © Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse.

Now that this series is in its second arc, I have a clearer picture of the story’s direction. An alien has been stranded on Earth, and is hiding out in plain sight in the small town of Patience in the Pacific Northwest. He was posing as a retired doctor devoted to fishing, but has been sucked into working as the town’s doctor. After being shot in the first volume, he’s recovering and still helping his young replacement, who the nurses and townsfolk don’t like very much. This is one storyline that presents great character development, but there are two more. The alien is also a detective novel fan, and solved a serial murderer case (leading to his being shot). Now another murder victim, unrelated, has turned up, and the alien can’t seem to resist the opportunity to try to solve this one as well. Finally, the government knows something or someone crash-landed years ago, and is still trying to find out more. New evidence surfaces with a photo of the alien’s true face (that most around him can’t see, though we readers can). The government sends out a team to investigate.

This combination of science fiction, murder mystery and small town soap opera from veteran British creators Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse is great reading, with lots of interwoven threads and slowly building tension. Reminds me a bit of that old TV show “The Fugitive,” except this fellow is mostly staying put and hoping not to be found out, though the chances of that are increasing.

Well done and Recommended.