Book Review: Big F@!king Deal by Lawrence Allan (Jimmy Cooper Mysteries #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Jimmy and his humor

Cons: Plot could have been a little stronger

The Bottom Line:

Hunting kidnappers

While dealing with his father

Second book is fun

A Kidnapping is Always a Big Deal

When I read the first book in Lawrence Allan’s Jimmy Cooper Mysteries last year, I was hooked. So reading the second, Big F@!king Deal, was an obvious decision. 

Jimmy is a former child star who fell into the addiction stereotype. Now that he’s gotten himself straightened out, he’s a PI, still living in Los Angeles. He works as the investigator for his mother’s law firm, but he also takes on clients of his own. 

And this book picks up exactly where the previous one ended. Jimmy has just made headlines for the right reason - successfully solving a case. The headlines bring someone from his past back into his life - his father, who just vanished over a decade ago. But Jimmy has no time to worry about what his father wants since one of the wealthiest families in LA has hired him to find their college age son who has been kidnapped. The kidnappers have given them until Friday to put the ransom together. Can Jimmy find the young man before time runs out?

Let’s start with the obvious. No, this book isn’t a cozy, as the title indicates. However, I’ve read books with more language and violence than this book has. It’s nice to see an author choosing the time and place for those things to actually impact the story. But if you like to avoid those things, you’ll want to avoid this book. 

The plot in this book is entertaining. I was always hooked as I was reading. But I didn’t find this book quite as twisty as the first in the series. Still, I had to keep reading until I reached the end. 

Much of that is due to Jimmy himself. He’s a sympathetic character, and the storyline involving his father lets us get to know him better. While the rest of the cast feels just as real, Jimmy is the one that gets the most development. 

While some of that development is serious, overall, the book has a light, fun feel. The best laughs come from Jimmy’s sarcasm and observations in the first-person narration. 

While Big F@!king Deal was not quite as strong as the debut, it was still a fun read. I’m hoping to get to the third soon.