Book Review: Stardust Trail by J. R. Sanders (Nate Ross #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and fun plot

Cons: All cons moseyed on down the trail

The Bottom Line:

Tracking down writer

In historic Hollywood

A fun PI tale

Searching for a Missing Writer

A few months back, author J. R. Sanders came to my local library to talk about the books in his Nate Ross Mysteries.  I enjoyed listening to him, so I bought the books afterwards.  I’m glad I got them both since I really enjoyed the first, Stardust Trail.

Nate Ross is a PI in Hollywood in the 1930’s.  He’s not especially interested in the film industry, but he’s also not willing to turn down clients, so when he is asked to find the writer of a picture currently in production, he takes the case.  David Prince has been missing a couple of weeks, not the first time the author has vanished, but the studio needs him to work on some rewrites.

Nate’s search turns into more when he finds out that someone seems to be sabotaging the picture.  Since the studio is putting serious money into this picture, this is becoming a major issue for them.  Is the author’s disappearance part of the sabotage?

Yes, the Hollywood setting was part of the draw for me, but I was even more intrigued by the fact that the case takes Nate to my town north of Los Angeles proper.  Obviously, things are very different now than they were in 1938, when this story takes place, but I still enjoyed seeing a few place names I’m extremely familiar with pop up in the action.

The action was strong.  The plot started quickly and kept moving.  I picked up on a few things early on, but there was still plenty I hadn’t caught.  However, when Nate explained things, I actually felt a little foolish I hadn’t figured them out myself.  I always love it when that happens.

The characters were fun.  Nate has a past, but we get it in bits over the first third of the book, so there’s no big data dump.  There’s an extended cameo by a real life up and coming star of the day that I really enjoyed.  The rest of the cast was great and kept me engaged as I read.

This book is a bit of a throwback to the private eye books of the era.  As such, it does have a bit more foul language than in the cozies I typically read.  However, Nate also has a sense of humor that I truly loved.

I really did enjoy this debut.  As I said at the start, I’m glad I already have the sequel.  If you’re looking for a throwback to a classic PI novel, you’ll enjoy Stardust Trail.