Monica Reads: 'Interdiction' Is A Must Read New Hampshire Tale

By MONICA WEST, Monica Reads, InDepth NH

Above, author Michael Davidow

Michael Davidow's latest novel "Interdiction" is set in richly described southeastern New Hampshire. Vivid scenes of small towns, their people, events, theories, beliefs, loves and lives draw us in.

Death is on the minds of several town police authorities and local folks after a cop shoots and kills a college student during a traffic stop. There is anxiety between the departments and the officers. Who is in charge? The game gets started with the why of it all and soon involves the state Department of Justice.

Who is in charge? Who gives the orders? What do the lawyers have to say? What is the truth?
"Interdiction" is a book of complications. Very cautiously we are introduced to Val, a part-time police officer and a student of philosophy at the University of New Hampshire.

She is intriguing and the only quiet minded professional who takes into consideration the timing of the events. She was the only one to captain the police boat in the Portsmouth Harbor working for a joint task force for the state Attorney General's Office to get a handle on interdiction of drug trafficking in the area.

Val notes in her police reports that the victim had to be where he was. She indicates the philosophical meaning that every moment is a quantum moment and if read properly enmeshes you in a loop.

Val makes sense and this reader fell in love with her. There are several agencies involved and people running or hoping to run for political office.

"Interdiction" is an excellent read. I find myself going back to re-read several of the chapters. You will not regret reading this book. Thank you, Michael Davidow, for writing such a rich and informative tale.

Biography: Michael Davidow was born in Boston and raised in Manchester, N.H. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan School of Law. After working in both Boston and Washington, D.C., he returned to New Hampshire, where he practices criminal defense. He and his wife Catherine have one son. Davidow writes the award winning column Radio Free New Hampshire for InDepthNH.org. He is also the author of Gate City, Split Thirty, and The Rocketdyne Commission, three novels about politics and advertising which, taken together, form The Henry Bell Project, The Book of Order, and The Hunter of Talyashevka, "Chanukah Land" can be found here. And his latest novel "Interdiction" can be found here.

Monica Reads: Monica West reviews books for InDepthNH.org. Monica is known for her love of history and her lifelong love for reading. She has a bachelor’s degree in History, with a minor in English. “My years of reading for leisure and pleasure have given me the insight to read a book and analyze the author’s baggage, cargo and ability to write the language of his/her mind and utilize the gift of prose to educate and entertain the reader. Go get a book, read it and enjoy the adventure.”

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.