Book Review: My Father Always Finds Corpses by Lee Hollis (Father/Daughter Mysteries #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The characters came to life; mystery was good overall

Cons: Pacing at the beginning; climax issue; some details seemed fluid

The Bottom Line:

Finding dead body

Makes Jarrod and Liv team up

Promise, but some flaws

Murder as Father-Daughter Bonding

Lee Hollis is a name I’ve long had in my list of authors to try.  I’ve bought some of Lee’s books when they were on sale, and I’ve read novella anthologies with Lee’s stories in them.  But I was determined to actually read a novel, so I sat down to read My Father Always Finds Corpses.  While it wasn’t bad, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped.

For those who don’t know, half of the Lee Hollis pen name is author Rick Copp.  Years ago, Rick released three books starring Jarrod Jarvis, a child star now trying to navigate Hollywood as a young man.  And stumbling over dead bodies in the process.  Jarrod is back in this first in a new series.  At this point in his life, he’s left Hollywood behind and is living in Palm Springs, still grieving the death of his husband, Charlie, ten years ago.  While he’s still got his daughter, Liv, in his life, their relationship is distant.

For example, Liv hasn’t introduced her new boyfriend, Zel, to Jarrod yet.  But the chance for that to happen ends once and for all when someone kills Zel and Liv finds the body.  It’s been a number of years since Jarrod investigated a crime, but his old instincts kick in, especially when Liv decides she wants to figure out what happened to Zel.  Will solving this case bring them closer together?

I knew that Rick has released some books on his own before teaming up with his sister to write books as Lee Hollis, and I even knew he had one that featured an actor in Hollywood.  But I didn’t realize this series was a spin off/reboot of those books until I sat down to write the review.  So, if you are wondering if you need to track down those other books first or if you can jump in here, I didn’t have any trouble following the characters or their relationships in this book.  Are there some things I might have missed?  Sure.  But I would bet they are minor.  (But now I’m thinking some of the references to earlier events in his life we might have seen in those books.)

This book has a melancholy tone.  The grief Jarrod and Liv are still dealing with are very real.  We do see that start to break as the book goes along, but this isn’t as strongly comedic as I’ve heard Lee’s books can be.

But my issue really comes as we start looking at the plot.  It was a bit slow to get going.  Yes, there was quite a bit of stuff that had to be set up.  I get it.  But it still felt like it could have started faster.  The pacing did get better after we find the body.  Having said that, I had major issues with the climax.  There was a scene that seemed unnecessary.  Yes, it was fun, but it also made no sense.

We spend time with both Jarrod and Liv as they work to solve the case.  I enjoyed getting to know both of them better over the course of the story.  I feel it really worked in this case to truly understand where both of them are as the book begins.  I’m not sure that I completely bought their closer relationship at the end of the book, but I’m being a bit too nitpicky here.

And, speaking of being nitpicky, there were too many details I felt were fluid as the book went along, like how long Liv and Zel had been dating, for starters.  Either the book needed another edit to look for those details or I missed something as I was reading.

All the characters do come to life, not just Jarrod and Liv.  I loved some of them and loved to hate others.

One of the supporting characters is a former first lady.  When I saw that, my guard went up, expecting politics to come into the book.  While there are some moments, they are small.  Would the book have been better without them?  For me, yes.  But they were easy enough to ignore.

Will I give Lee Hollis another chance?  Yes, I’ll be willing to do that.  After all, I do already have some other of Lee’s books.  But My Father Always Finds Corpses didn’t make me want to rush out to read another one.