REVOLVER is a gem. I was shaking my head in wonder and appreciation within a few pages. Page 22, to be exact. I loved it from the start, fully expecting to have my heart broken by page 150 or so. It didn’t happen. Duane Swierczynski, who seems to be incapable of writing badly, has given us a jewel that far surpasses even his own usual high standards. He is a critically acclaimed author’s author who has written a number of novels and scads of comics --- if you read sequential art stories (and you should), you more than likely have encountered and enjoyed his work --- but REVOLVER, as George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and Jerome Brailey would say, tears the roof off the sucker.

This book is a trilogy contained in one well-written novel of just a little over 300 pages, a mystery done right that is perfect in every way. Each section is divided into three parts, stretching over three generations and a half-century. Each part deals with a member of a generation of the Walczak family, for whom law enforcement runs proud, strong and deep. The first part of each section involves Stan Walczak, who we meet as he sits in uniform with his partner, George Wildey, in a Philadelphia neighborhood bar on May 7, 1965 moments before they face their final destinies.

"Anyone who has ever celebrated a holiday with their dysfunctional family will find much to love here, mystery aficionado or otherwise."

The second part is set 30 years later. Jim Walczak, a Philadelphia homicide detective, lives and breathes law enforcement but is haunted by his father’s unsolved murder three decades previously. The suspect in the case, a career criminal named Terrill Lee Stanton, has never been charged. When he learns that Stanton has been released from prison after being incarcerated for another offense, Jim decides to reopen the investigation into his father’s death on his own, perhaps to self-administer a bit of delayed and denied justice after the fact.

The third part is probably the most interesting. Audrey Kornbluth --- daughter of Jim, granddaughter of Stan --- is a forensic science student in Houston and a bit of a wild child. She is estranged from her father and most of her family; when we meet her, she is returning to Philadelphia in 2015 to attend a ceremony honoring her late grandfather. While home, she receives new information concerning her grandfather’s death, as well as who may have --- and who may have not --- been responsible. Audrey begins her own investigation, the result of which may widen the gulf between herself and her father --- who is now a highly honored and respected Philadelphia police captain --- and possibly destroy his career.

Sound interesting? It’s more than that. Each section advances the timeline of each part, giving the reader little breadcrumbs of clues and hints of mystery to follow, which you will, right to the end, while reading as fast as you possibly can. It’s a tantalizing mystery full of interesting characters, major and minor. And that would have been enough for me to give you a full-throated recommendation of the book. What really seals the deal, though, is the manner in which Swierczynski explores how time and events affect families and how they interact. The time jump makes the differences in relationships stand out in startling and stark relief, and provides another mystery of sorts that keeps one reading and guessing.

Don’t think that REVOLVER is “Downton Abbey”set in Philadelphia. It’s not. Anyone who has ever celebrated a holiday with their dysfunctional family will find much to love here, mystery aficionado or otherwise.