Jackson Free Press

In the first fiction novel for Mississippi-born author Neely Tucker, he wants to tackle the issues of race, media sensationalism and social justice in a realistic light, all under the guise of a thriller. While his writing in "The Ways of the Dead" (Viking, 2014, $27.95) bears well-placed description and his command of the subject matter is evident, bouts of slow-motion pacing and surface-level characterization keep the novel from leaping off the page.

From the outset, Tucker clearly has an intimate understanding of the newsroom, knowledge with which he imbues protagonist Sully Carter, an investigative journalist who sports a scarred face to match his scarred psyche. Set in the late 1990s, "The Ways of the Dead" sees Carter use sure-fire leads and his whip-smart colleagues to uncover the truth behind the murder of young Sarah Reese—daughter of soon-to-be Supreme Court Judge David Reese—and a string of seemingly unconnected deaths, all with a watchful eye on deadlines.

But as a reader, thank God nothing is that simple. One of Sully's secret leads comes in the form of known drug dealer Sly Hastings, and his editors and fellow reporters alike don't lend much of a hand, as the entire nation wrongfully targets three black boys as the perpetrators.

"The Ways of the Dead" suffers more from its premise than one might expect. Carter is, as the reader is told, a great reporter and, as such, should be right in the thick of the Reese investigation.

Instead, the reader bears witness to countless second-hand actions—meetings, phone calls and can-we-talks—all of which would be forgivable if Sully Carter made for a compelling lead character.

As it stands, Carter has little in terms of depth, painting him like a noir cop with a bachelor's degree in English, and few supporting character interactions work to shake that paint-by-numbers persona. The flashbacks to his relationship with Nadia, a Yugoslav schoolteacher during the Bosnian War, invite great character-building moments, but these are few and far between.

While "The Ways of the Dead" raises some all-too-real points about the role of race in media coverage, the framework for these facts is sometimes rendered with a dull lifelessness.

The character of Sully Carter, whom Neely Tucker no doubt intends to use in later installments, might be a fantastic journalist. He just isn't much of a protagonist.

Neely Tucker signs "The Ways of the Dead" at Lemuria Books (4450 N. Highway 55, Suite 202, 601-366-7619). July 7 at 5 p.m.