Jeep Mullane was an NYPD detective until a tragic case brought him back to his home on Long Island. His qualifications netted him the top job on the small local police department. His next case becomes personal when the body of his childhood best friend, Johnny Chambliss, is found on the beach. Johnny’s head wound might have been caused after he was run down by a boat. Was he the victim of an accident? Was he murdered? Investigating Johnny’s death will force Jeep to revisit people and events from his past better left behind.
Although they were best friends, Jeep and Johnny were very different. Jeep was from a working class family, his father an NYPD cop, while Johnny came from a wealthy, powerful Long Island family. Jeep was focused and responsible, but Johnny’s erratic behavior earned him the nickname “Johnny Careless.” So in many ways, Jeep was saddened, but not surprised to find that his buddy may have been killed.
Gwen and Pete Chambliss always liked Jeep, regarding him as a good influence on Johnny. But as adults, their paths diverged. Jeep followed the law and order one laid out by his father. True to form, Johnny did nothing to contradict his father’s concerns about his lack of motivation. Johnny, however, did have one motivation – to make sure Jeep got through college, arranging to pay his tuition anonymously. Jeep never knew and finding out now, with Johnny dead, hits him hard. No matter the obstacles, Jeep is determined to find out what happened to Johnny.
Kevin Wade may not have been a cop, but for 14 seasons and 293 episodes he was involved with the CBS drama, Blue Bloods. After being on the writing staff for the first season, he became the show’s executive producer/showrunner. (Read about the Blue Bloods event at the Paley Center for Media.) Not only does Wade’s debut crime novel, Johnny Careless, show his knowledge of police procedure, in a few places quotes by Jeep echo character dialogue on the show. Commissioner Frank Reagan, played by Tom Selleck, had a signature response whenever he was asked how he discovered something his staff tried to bury. “I know everything,” he would say. “I’m the commissioner.”
Another story related by Jeep resembles one that Jamie Regan, Frank’s youngest son, told in an episode. Jamie, played by Will Estes, graduated from Harvard Law School but left a law firm to join the NYPD. When a woman he was protecting from an assailant asked him why he made the career switch, he told a version of what Jeep says: “You have a room with a senator, a rock star, a brain surgeon, an astronaut, a famous actor, and a big-city cop? Within ten minutes the first five are all begging the cop for another story.”
On Blue Bloods, the plots focused on what cops faced in their daily battles with crime in New York City. But what kept viewers coming back was that Sunday dinner when the Reagan family gathered to recap the week. Character development continued throughout the series, and Wade’s talent for constructing believable and likable characters is what makes Johnny Careless a great read. Jeep is cut from the same cloth as Frank Reagan, doing things by the book (mostly), but not forgetting that sometimes the law must yield to help the less fortunate. Johnny may be his family’s black sheep, but there’s a reason someone like Jeep regarded him as a good friend. As Jeep delves into Johnny’s life after their friendship cooled, he’s reminded of his friend’s bravery and humanity.
Wade also gives us a glimpse into Jeep’s NYPD experience and why he left the force. It’s a tragic story that, even though cleared of wrongdoing, continues to haunt Jeep. Now that Blue Bloods has ended, could Jeep launch a new series? At lease we can hope Wade’s first novel won’t be his last.
Johnny Careless
Kevin Wade
Top photo: Bigstock
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