By David Krogh
A former British soldier and ex-mercenary comes to Portland hoping to solve a mystery for a friend involving her sister and a giant tech business. The story’s scenario will be especially familiar to Portland residents, as you shall see.
Deadlock is the second book in the series about ex-soldier/mercenary Desmond Aloysius Limerick (Dez for short). Book one, called The Gatekeeper, premiered just a year ago and was discussed in the June 2022 issue of The Southeast Examiner. In both books, Portland author James Byrne makes use of a short prologue showing a flashback segment of Dez’s background, but otherwise makes much of that background a mystery in keeping with the character. “We will see snippets of Dez’s past from time to time, but not too much of that,” stated Byrne. “If Dez has any antecedents in fiction,” says Byrne, “they could be Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, characters created in 1963 by British comic strip writer Peter O’Donnell. Both have strong martial skill sets. They will stand up for victims. They are capable, when necessary, of ruthlessness, but never revel in it.”
In this new story, Dez continues using his prior training and experience to assist friends in need. Deadlock is especially of interest to Portlanders as much of the story takes place in downtown Portland, with side trips to Astoria and into the Columbia Gorge. Of special note, the author specifically identifies Powell’s Books, but does not name other businesses visited within the story (although they are real, existing businesses). However, Byrne feels a savvy reader can figure out many of the real businesses which were included, but not named, within the story.
Byrne also attempts locational and historical accuracy. For example, at the beginning of Chapter 19, Portland’s downtown short blocks are described as having been created by “greed.” The author indicated that he had attended a PSU history lecture discussing development of the downtown back in 2008 (or so). “Portland’s very short downtown blocks were based on the idea that every merchant wanted a corner store. Making blocks half as long as other cities meant twice as many corner lots. The lecturer also told us the Park Blocks were designed as a firebreak. I thought that was really interesting.”
Deadlock is fairly fast paced and keeps the action coming for an interesting read. The character and plot development are much more dynamic than in the first book of the series, The Gatekeeper. In Deadlock, two sisters are attacked due to their investigations into activities by major technology company Clockjack. An auditor is killed, a reporter injured, apartments are ransacked and both federal agents and the Portland Police are involved. What next?
Author Byrne is a local writer who is heavy into the mystery/thriller genre. “This is like a golden age of crazy-good mystery/thriller writers. Lee Child (who is) retired, really set the pace. I just love this genre,” stated Byrne. Asked if a third book in the series is expected, the author shared, “My editor has the manuscript now, and I’m expecting notes back on it, perhaps as early as this week.” A publishing date has yet to be determined.
Also of note, James Byrne is a pseudonym for this particular book series. The author’s real name is Dana Haynes. Deadlock is his 12th published novel whereas the first 10 were published as a different series under his real name. The genre, however, is the same: mysteries and thrillers.
Haynes has spent over 20 years both in newspaper and local government work and still manages to maintain a sense of humor. When asked how he finds time to write he responded, “I go to a lot of mystery and thriller conventions, and I meet a lot of other authors. And I can tell you those of us trained in journalism are among the fastest writers out there. We don’t, for instance, experience writers block. As you know, in journalism, it isn’t called ‘writers block,’ it’s called ‘unemployment.’”
The author has separate websites for his published novels under both his real name and his nom de plume: danahaynesmystery.com/meet-dana and jamesbyrnethriller.com.
Deadlock is published by Minotaur Books (us.macmillan.com/minotaurbooks) where Deadlock is available. It can also be found at, or ordered from, local booksellers including Powell’s Books.
Photo: Author James Byrne
