New Crime Novel Set in Huntington, W.Va

After a career working in the international intelligence community, realistic cold war spy novels have been Huntington author Michael Connick’s forte. His latest book, a crime novel titled “HPD” is still realistic, but it focuses on the Huntington Police Department in present day. 

HPD follows the 12 year career of a Huntington police officer from when he first joined the force in 2006 through 2018. The main character, a patrolman, follows up on a murder investigation in his own time, in spite of what it costs him personally. 

Credit Courtesy photo: Michael Connick

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“I like the city. I mean, it’s gone through some real struggles that are actually talked about in the book. You know, Ethan is a cop and he has to deal with the opioid crisis and so on. I like the city and I felt I wanted to make Huntington a character in the book itself,” Connick said about his choice to set a novel in Huntington.

Connick retired after a long career in the international intelligence community. The aphorism is to write what you know, so Connick’s first three books are spy novels set during the Cold War. 

“The first book was ‘Trapped in a Hall of Mirrors.’ And then when I wrote my sequel to it, it turned out to be ‘Funhouse Mirrors’ because I was kind of a play on the theme. And then the last book, was called ‘Afghan Mirrors,’” Connick said.

‘Afghan Mirrors’ was set during the Soviet/Afghan war.

Connick explained that his next novel will likely be a cozy mystery similar to those written by Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. He said he has already written a short story about the mythical town of Why, West Virginia and that will be the location. 

Connick’s latest book ‘HPD’ has been out for a month and has gained notable popularity, he said. 

“I’ve sold more books this past month than I have ever of any of my other books,” Connick said. “So it’s obviously touching a resonance somewhere and maybe everybody in Huntington, everybody in Cabell County and everybody in the tri-state area is buying my book, but a lot of people are buying my book.”