Book Review: Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Charlie and his family, good mystery

Cons: Charlie seems a bit reckless

The Bottom Line:

Changes in his life

And dangerous mystery

This debut is good

Low on Sleep. High on Crime

I’ve enjoyed several of the winners of the Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel over the years, so when I saw that Stakeouts and Strollers, the recently published debut from Rob Phillips, won the contest back in 2024, I had to give it a try. 

The book introduces us to Charlie Shaw, a first-time father who is also a newly licensed private investigator. Between the career change and a six-month-old who isn’t sleeping through the night, he’s struggling. 

While he’s out on surveillance, he meets a teenager who is looking for her father. Charlie can’t help but feel for her, and he decides to take on the case even though she can’t pay him. However, he quickly figures out that he’s brought a lot of danger on his family. Is his client’s father still alive? Can he figure out what is happening before the danger hits too close to home?

I was expecting a bit of a comedic PI novel when I picked this book up. While there are some humorous parts, especially Charlie’s banter with his wife, the book is fairly serious in tone overall. That includes some rough language and a bit more violence than I was expecting as well. Keep all that in mind when you go to pick up this book. 

The mystery itself kept me entertained the entire way through. There is a lot going on, but I never had trouble keeping up with the events and Charlie’s theories. The ending was suspenseful and logical. I was quite happy when I set it down. 

I really liked Charlie, and especially his relationship with his family. We really got to know him as the book progressed and could sympathize with what he was experiencing as a new father. His wife and daughter were also good characters. In fact, as the book progressed, I felt like everyone came to life on the page. 

I did feel like Charlie took a few unnecessary risks over the course of the book, especially for a new father. But that’s a minor critique. 

The book is set in and around San Francisco, not too far from where I grew up. There’s one place that doesn’t seem possible geographically, but I’m sure most people won’t be bothered by it. 

This book feels like it might be a standalone. If we do get a sequel, I will definitely be revisiting Charlie and family. Those looking for an enjoyable debut will be glad they picked up Stakeouts and Strollers. 

Book Review: Blues in the Dark by J.R. Sanders (Nate Ross #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Nate solving another fun case in 1930’s Los Angeles

Cons: All cons left in the dark

The Bottom Line:

Kidnapped young woman

Nate in race to rescue her

Series always fun

Trying to Find a Kidnap Victim

I’ve really come to enjoy the Nate Ross series from J.R. Sanders, so a new book is always a reason to celebrate.  While it’s been out for a couple of months, I read Blues in the Dark as soon as I got my hands on a copy.

Nate is a private investigator in 1930’s Los Angeles.  While movies are the big business, he has no use for it and tries to avoid them at all costs.  This particular book is set in 1939, and Nate finds himself once again drawn into the world of Hollywood.

You see, Nate’s client is Audrey Chase, one of the biggest movie stars.  Her sister has been kidnapped, and the ransom demand is small.  Audrey paid it, but her sister wasn’t returned as promised, and now she wants Nate to find her sister and return her safely.  Given that this is Hollywood, Nate is wondering if this is more of a publicity stunt than a real crime, but the pay is good, so he takes the case.  He quickly finds that, if he gets it wrong, this case will have deadly consequences.  Can he figure out what is really going on?

While I haven’t read a ton of the PI novels of the late 1930’s, this feels like it would fit into that tradition quite nicely.  No, this isn’t a cozy, but it keeps things fairly clean, which I appreciate.

While the book doesn’t have a ton of supporting characters, we have a few recurring ones.  I enjoyed seeing them again.  And, of course, Nate is a fun character to follow around as always.  We get some interesting new characters that kept me engaged as the story unfolded.

And the mystery itself?  It’s strong.  It’s the main focus of the book, and it has more than enough action to keep us engaged the entire way through.  I couldn’t wait to see exactly what was going on and how Nate was going to figure things out.  Yet, when we reached the end, everything made sense.

Other books in the series have delved a bit more into the world of the Hollywood studios of the era than this one did even with a movie star client.  I did feel like I was transported to the Los Angeles of the 1930’s, which I always find fun when I pick up one of these books.

Blues in the Dark is another fast, fun read with a great historical backdrop.  Now comes to wait for Nate’s next case.

Here are the rest of the Nate Ross Novels.

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. 

Book Review: The Big Boat to Bye-Bye by Ellis Weiner (Pete Ingalls, PI #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Pete and an intriguing mystery

Cons: Some humor doesn’t work; a bit too much philosophizing 

The Bottom Line:

Blackmailing puppets

Pete is searching for villains

Different but it works

Blackmail and Murder in the World of Puppets

I have some books that have been in my condo for a long time unread. In the case of The Big Boat to Bye-Bye, it’s been decades. I got the book autographed when it came out in 2005, and I never quite got around to reading it. But I decided now was the time to fix that. 

This book is a little different. And it has none of the set up in it you’d need to fully appreciate the character. It’s the second book featuring Pete Ingalls, a PI of sorts. In reality, he’s a man who had an obsession with classic noir movies. After getting hit on the head, he wakes up as Pete, certain he’s a PI. He even dresses in period costumes and uses the slang. He’s got an office in New York City, and his secretary is an actress wannabe. At this point, I don’t remember how the setup was handled in the first book (Drop Dead, My Lovely) since the story is narrated from Pete’s first-person point of view. Heck, I might even have some details wrong. 

This second mystery finds Pete getting hired by the producers of a children’s TV show. The show uses puppets, and each season they have an outtake real they show during the wrap party of the puppeteers goofing off between takes. Some of the material is very raunchy, in a way that would get the show canceled if the reel got out. And that’s exactly what might happen. Someone is blackmailing the studio, and they want Pete to find out who. But when Pete’s investigation leads him to a dead body, can he find the killer?

Quite obviously, this isn’t one of my cozies. Yes, we get more details on what I mentioned in the teaser. And there’s language as well, although it doesn’t come from Pete, who is often telling people to watch their language. So keep that in mind before picking up the book. 

There’s also the theme, which finds Pete philosophizing on multiple personalities. Sort of. It’s hard to explain. I get it in the context of the set up for the series. But it could have been tone down, especially since it often slowed down the plot. 

But when the plot was front and center, it was good. We had quite a few twists, and I was intrigued, wondering where things would wind up. The ending, when we reached it, made sense, although it was a little convoluted. 

Pete, as you might have guessed, isn’t as bright as he thinks he is. And this is the basis of much of the humor in the book. That along with people’s reactions to Pete. At times the humor worked for me. Others, it didn’t. I think it would have worked better if this had been used sparingly. 

Overall, I did enjoy this book, and I’m glad I finally plucked it from my overflowing too be read mountain range. You’ll have to work to find a copy of The Big Boat to Bye-Bye today, but if the premise intrigues you, you’ll want to give both a shot. 

Book Review: A Killing Way by J. R. Sanders (Nate Ross #4)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong, fun mystery with characters we like

Cons: Some characters could be a little stronger

The Bottom Line:

Hunting for painting

That was stolen by dead man

Another fun case

Tracking a Painting Stolen by a Dead Man

There seem to be certain times and places I am drawn to in my historical mysteries and one of those is old Hollywood. The Nate Ross series has continually provided a fun glimpse into that time period, and A Killing Way, the fourth in the series, is no exception. 

Nate is a former police officer who had to leave the force. He’s set up shop as a private investigator. While he’s not a fan of motion pictures and tries to stay out of the business as much as he can, he keeps finding himself involved in cases that involve the business. 

For example, his latest client is silent film star William S. Hart, a man famous for his many Westerns. He’s recently had a portrait done by renowned artist Charlie Russell stolen from his house, and he wants Nate to get it back. He even knows exactly who took it. 

Sounds easy, right? It would be except the thief was recently killed, the victim of a deadly accident on the set of a Western that has divided the community of cowboys who are day players in the movies. Nate wanted nothing to do with the case or the controversy, but now he has to wade in if he has any hopes of finding the painting. Can he do it?

I’ll admit, I probably wouldn’t have heard of William S. Hart if it weren’t for the fact that he lived in the town I call home here in Southern California. It was fun meeting him via the page. There’s a key scene that takes place at a local landmark, which I enjoyed as well. Although I had to laugh at myself as I was reading those scenes. I struggled not to picture how it looks today, almost 90 years after the book is set. I know it would have looked very different back then. 

The mystery was well done. There were several great twists as the story unfolded, and I was always anxious to see what was going to happen next. Good thing it was a quick read with lots of action to keep us glued to the page. The book reaches a satisfactory conclusion, and I felt the various threads were wrapped up. 

Fans of the series will be happy to hear that we see all the usual supporting characters and get to meet some fun new ones as well. A few of them could have been a little stronger, but that’s my only critic, and it’s a minor one. 

Being a PI novel, there is a tad more violence and language than the cozies I typically read. But it’s a very small amount. 

A Killing Way is a great addition to the Nate Ross series. Fans will be glad to be back in Nate’s presence, and if you haven’t started this series yet, I recommend you do so today. 

Do check out the rest of the Nate Ross Mysteries.

Book Review: Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens (Babs Norman #1)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: fun spending time with old Hollywood stars

Cons: Mystery is poorly plotted. 

The Bottom Line:

Old Hollywood stars

Are the draw for this story

But plotting is poor

Old Hollywood with a Dash of Mystery

Being the movie fan I am, Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles immediately caught my attention when it came out last year. What could be better than a mystery involving classic Hollywood stars, right? Sadly, this book was lacking a well plotted mystery. 

The year in 1940, and Babs Norman and Guy Brandt have set up a detective agency. But it is struggling to bring in any money, which is why Babs has just been evicted from her apartment. But the potential for positive cash flow comes when they learn that Hollywood isn’t going to the dogs since their dogs are disappearing. Basil Rathbone’s dog has been kidnapped as has the dog that plays Asta in the Thin Man movies. Since a new Thin Man movie is supposed to start production soon, the studio is desperate to get their canine star back. Can Babs and Guy figure out what is going on?

If you are looking for a book filled with Hollywood stars from the Golden age of Hollywood, this book is definitely for you. At times, I felt like actors and actresses outnumbered the fictional characters. And they are very involved in the plot since we have a bit of a competition between the actors who play Sherlock Holmes and Nick Charles to see who can solve things. Yes, Babs, as our main character, is also involved and ultimately does piece things together, but the actors do provide some important information. 

Unfortunately, the plot just isn’t that good. There are lots of ideas included, but they aren’t well developed. Often, I felt like things were shoved in instead of being more organically introduced. And there are a few storylines/complications that are more about the antics of the stars than about furthering the mystery, giving us uneven pacing. Things did reach a satisfactory ending. 

And we can’t forget the subplot that felt forced into things and unresolved.

While I did feel the historical aspect was mostly well done, I did find a factual error early on that made me question other things. And it was something that took me just a few seconds to learn for myself. 

The writing was also only passable. It kept us outside the story, more an observer than a full participant. It also kept us from getting to really know the characters. 

If you are a fan of old Hollywood and want to rub elbows with the stars of the era, you’ll enjoy Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles. But if you are looking for a well-developed mystery, you can skip this book. 

Book Review: The Lies We Live by Liz Milliron (Homefront Mysteries #6)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Growth for Betty in a hard to put down book

Cons: A niggle or two with the ending, but it’s minor

The Bottom Line:

What is teen hiding?

And fiancé back in town

Betty’s great next case

Betty Must Uncover the Truth for Her New Client

One reason I enjoy series is because I get caught up in the lives of the characters.  After a couple of books, I’m coming back for that as much as the mystery itself.  Over the last couple of books, author Liz Milliron has been creating some interesting conflicts for the characters in her Homefront Mysteries, so I was anxious to see where it would lead in The Lies We Live, the sixth in the series.

This series is set in Buffalo, New York, during World War II.  When the series started, Betty Ahern was working in the airplane factory, doing her part for the war effort.  But since then, she’s quit her job and started a new career as a fully licensed PI.  Things as going well, and as this book opens in September 1943, Betty is looking for office space and is hiring someone to work for her part time.

Her latest client is Nancy Washington, a young woman who is certain that her teenage brother is up to something.  Something dangerous if not downright illegal.  Betty agrees to try to learn what the brother is up to, but she has to try to get creative since the Washingtons are African American and Betty can’t blend into the neighborhood as easily as she is used to.

Meanwhile, Betty gets surprising news.  Her fiancé, Tom, is coming home from the front in Africa.  He’s been injured, and it quickly becomes evident that he’s not the same man who Betty agreed to marry.

While Betty is trying to figure out what to do, there’s a murder connected with her case.  With the stakes raised, Betty has to figure out what is going on.  Can she do it?

Let’s get the racial language issue out of the way first.  Yes, the authors does use some of the language acceptable at the time, but by no means all of it.  Since that is historically accurate, I was okay with it, although it did stand out to me when I was reading it.  I just had to keep reminding myself that it was what the characters would be saying.

Yes, the book does touch on race relations at the time, and Betty and others talk about how poor Nancy and others are being treated.  I truly appreciated that part of the book.  But don’t worry, this is a small part of things.  The focus is on the mystery.

And the book has a great mystery.  I was left guessing exactly what was going on until near the end – just about the time that Betty figured everything out.  The ending was logical.  I have a niggle or two with the climax, but any of those issues are minor.

This is our first time meeting Tom, an event I’d been looking forward to, especially after the last couple of books.  It’s obvious he’s going through quite a bit being back in town with his injuries, and I appreciated how that was handled.  Honestly, I was as caught up in this part of the story as I was the main mystery.  Between the two, I had a hard time putting the book down.

And Tom being back allowed Betty to really mature in this book.  I loved the growth here.  We also got to see some of the other characters in a different light, which I appreciated.

The story is told from Betty’s first-person point of view.  She speaks and narrates with just a hint of the slang of the day.  It adds a charm to the story that I enjoy.

My normal disclaimer comes into play here – these aren’t cozies, although they still keep the language and violence to a minimum.  As long as you know that going into the book, you’ll be fine.

To fully appreciate the character growth we see here, you’ll want to read the series in order.  Following Betty’s journey is well worth it.

The Lies We Live leaves Betty in a good place.  She will be back, but fans will be happy waiting until we get to visit her again.  That also means it is a good time to dive in and catch up if you haven’t started this wonderful series yet.

This book is currently scheduled to be released on March 18^th.  So keep a look out for it so you can preorder it.

Do check out the rest of the Homefront Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: Under the Paper Moon by Shaina Steinberg

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Interesting mystery in post WWII Los Angeles

Cons: I spent much of the book wishing for something different for the characters

The Bottom Line:

Reunite with past

In historic mystery

Could have been better

I Wished I’d Liked It Better

When I first heard about Under the Paper Moon by Shaina Steinberg, I thought it would be something I’d enjoy.  A historical book set right after World War II in Los Angeles, plus the main characters had been spies during the war.  It immediately grabbed my attention.  While there were parts I enjoyed, there were parts that I struggled with.

When her brother was taken hostage while fighting in Europe, Evelyn Bishop went overseas and joined the OSS in an effort to end the war sooner if not find and rescue her brother.  Now that the war is over, Evelyn has returned to Los Angeles.  Her father owns an airplane factory, so she doesn’t need to work a day in her life if she doesn’t want to.  But she wants to, so she’s opened a PI agency, only taking the clients she really wants.

Her latest case finds her trailing a family friend to find evidence that he’s cheating on his wife.  But the last thing Eveyln expected was for him to be murdered.  In order to figure out what happened, Eveyln is going to have to team up with Nick Gallagher, the man who betrayed her when the war ended.  Will they uncover the truth?

I’ve really struggled more than usual with my thoughts on this book.  Usually, I can tell pretty quickly what worked and what didn’t for me.  There are certain things I look for, and if I’m not enjoying a book, it’s usually one of those things causing the problem.

In this case, I did enjoy much of the book.  We get some flashbacks to what happened during the war, which help explain what is going on in the present.  These are clearly marked, and a small part of the book overall (despite how it might seem early on).

And the contemporary mystery was good as well.  There were enough twists and surprises to keep me engaged.  The climax made sense, too.

Unfortunately, many of the issues I had with the book get into spoiler territory.  I will say that I knew we were supposed to be rooting for Evelyn and Nick to get back together, and all I saw were the issues in their relationship.  The author wrote herself into a corner as far as their relationship went with the story she was trying to tell.

I think my other issue with the story is explained by the author’s note at the end.  She set out to tell a certain story with a certain outcome.  That ending felt forced, and I found myself rooting for a different outcome most of the book.

Having said that, I was satisfied with where the characters wound up when I turned the final page.  Again, it’s hard to explain my thoughts on the book without giving specific spoilers, but it does show just how complex we can be as humans, doesn’t it?

And maybe it’s the film noir vibe of the book that turned me off more than anything.  I do enjoy the occasional darker tale, so I thought I might be okay with this one.

The narration was mostly limited to either Eveyln or Nick’s point of view (and it changed between chapters), but at times, it switched to omniscient point of view, and it always felt awkward when it did, especially since it was telling us things instead of showing them.

Ultimately, I’m not sorry I read Under the Paper Moon, but I’m not likely to seek out other books by Shaina Steinberg.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: The Secrets We Keep by Liz Milliron (Homefront Mysteries #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery, great characters

Cons: Some timeline wonkiness (but it’s minor)

The Bottom Line:

Finding man’s parents

Complicated by murder

Pages turn swiftly

When Secrets Lead to Murder

I’ve really enjoyed the look at what was happening in America during World War II via Liz Milliron’s Homefront Mysteries.  I was anxious to get my hands on The Secrets We Keep, the fifth in the series, and it was another winner.

When we first met Betty Ahern, she was doing her part of help the war effort by working at Bell Aircraft.  But she’s discovered a talent and love for solving mysteries, so she’s quit her job to become a PI.  In fact, as this book opens, she’s just gotten her official license.

The 4^th of July 1943 is looming when Betty gets a new client.  Christopher Lake is a private in the army that has been home recovering from an injury he attained in the war.  He’s scheduled to go back to the front in a couple of weeks, but he is hoping that Betty can help him before he leaves.

You see, Christopher was raised at an orphanage, and he is wondering who his parents were.  He’s hoping that Betty can learn the truth before he ships out.  Unfortunately, all he has to go on is a story he heard from the nuns who raised him and a St. Christopher medal he was left with.

It isn’t much, but Betty starts to make some progress.  However, before she can complete the investigation, someone connected with the case is murdered.  Can Betty figure out what is going on?

As I’ve said in the past, I enjoy PI novels when they have a creative premise like this to draw us in.  I was as much interested at learning about Christopher’s parents as I was about the murder.  Which is a good thing since it took a while for the murder to happen.  But, with so much going on, I was never bored.

When the murder happened, things kicked into another gear.  I was always reluctant to return to today when I had to put the book down.  Unfortunately, there are some timeline issues in the book, but they are just annoying since they don’t impact the story itself.  Everything makes sense once Betty pieces it together.

It is great to see how Betty has grown as a detective in this book.  Yes, she’s still learning, but she is doing a great job following any clue she had.  In fact, considering how little she has to start with, it’s a testament to her skills.  We don’t see as much of some of the supporting players, but I did enjoy what they contributed to the book when they were on the page.  And the new characters we meet along the way are just as real as the series regulars.

One sub-plot does flow out of the previous book, and there are some references to previous books in the series.  Nothing is spoiled, however, so you can read this book out of order if you want.  Once you meet Betty, you’ll want to read them all.

The Secrets We Keep will entertain anyone who wants to read about what was happening in America during World War II.  Those who have already met Betty will be especially happy to get the next chapter in her life.

Enjoy the rest of the Homefront Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: “Y” is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #25)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: spending time with Kinsey, interesting dual plots

Cons: flashbacks slow down book, not sure how realistic one part of storyline is. 

The Bottom Line:

Kinsey’s last story

Did not need all the flashbacks

Fans will still enjoy

Yesterday, I Finished the Alphabet

I didn’t start reading Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone Mysteries until most of them had been written. When I started, I looked at the list and thought I’d never get through it. Yet here I am having finished “Y” is for Yesterday. 

This last book in the series takes us to September of 1989. PI Kinsey Millhone is hired by a family in a difficult situation. 10 years ago, their son made an explicit tape. He’s just been released from prison, and now the tape has resurfaced. Someone is threatening to give the tape to the authorities if the family doesn’t pay up, and they want Kinsey to find out who it is. 

Meanwhile, Kinsey is dealing with the aftermath of the attack she recently suffered. Things only heat up when she suspects her attacker might be back in the area. 

Since this is the last book in the series (sadly), I definitely wouldn’t advise anyone to jump in here. Several storylines (there are four overall, by my count), involved characters introduced in the last few books. There are spoilers for those books here, plus you won’t fully understand the relationships if you have read those books. 

Frankly, we could have done with a little less in this book, since it feels long. One fewer storyline would have helped for sure. We also get lots of flashbacks to the events from 1979 surrounding the tape and the aftermath from back then. A few of those scenes were interesting, but by the end, they did nothing but slow down the pacing. 

We also could have done without the explicit description of what was on that tape, especially the second time it was viewed. I’m sure there would have been ways to give us the gist of what was on it without going into all the details. And the second time, all we needed was the reaction of the person watching it. We do get foul language, which isn’t a surprise for those reading the series. 

I also have to question whether the tape could have been made as described in this book. Yes, I get that the teens involved were rich. I’d even buy a video camera to film. But how were they editing the film? Would they have really had the equipment or software to do that in 1979?

Leaving that aside, the main mystery is interesting. We find out early on some things Kinsey doesn’t, but it’s still interesting watching her figure them out. And we don’t have a full picture until the end of the book. 

I hadn’t been satisfied with how one storyline had ended in the previous book, so I was happy to see it carryover to this one. It’s really an equal storyline to the tape mystery and creates some great suspense. 

As always, it was wonderful to spend time with Kinsey here. I really do like her, and I’m going to miss her. We see quite a few of the regulars as well, which is great. The new characters make intriguing suspects as Kinsey tries to figure out exactly what is going on. 

Sadly, Sue Grafton died before she could finish what she was planning as the final book in the alphabet, I mean series. I’m of two minds about that. Part of me is curious if she would have wrapped up some storylines or if it would have felt like another normal entry in the series. Knowing her vision of how Kinsey’s story would end would be nice. 

In the other hand, I worry that I wouldn’t have liked how she would end things for Kinsey. Too many TV shows that feel the need to go for shocks at the end of the series have made me gun shy when someone starts pinning what they know will be the final in a series. This way, I get to imagine Kinsey’s future however I want it to be without any horrible changes. Fortunately, this book didn’t end with any major cliffhangers. 

Judy Kaye again did the narration for the audio book. It is nice the series only had one change in narrator, roughly half way through. After the initial adjustment, I’ve grown to enjoy her narration, and that held true here. 

Fans will want to see how the series ends. “Y” is for Yesterday isn’t one of the stronger entries in the series, but I’m still glad I finished it. 

Here are the rest of the Kinsey Millhone mysteries. 

Book Review: Bring the Night by J. R. Sanders (Nate Ross #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, engaging plot

Cons: Wrap-up could have been stronger

The Bottom Line:

Mysterious death

If murder, who is killer?

Fun historical

Suicide?  Or Murder?

It’s not where you start a story, but what you do with that beginning.  That’s true in many genres, but I notice it all the time in mysteries since that’s what I’m most familiar with.  That was true with Bring the Night, the third Nate Ross novel from J. R. Sanders.  While the set up may be familiar, where it ends is fun.

The book takes us to 1939 Los Angeles where Nate Ross works as a PI.  In the middle of a rash of suicides that summer, a brother and sister walk into Nate’s office wanting to hire him to find the truth about their father’s death.  The cops quickly ruled it another suicide, but they insist that it was murder.  It isn’t long before Nate is finding more questions than answers and receiving threats.  Can he figure out what is going on?

Obviously, it was murder.  I mean, if it were suicide, we’d have the most boring short story ever, and this is a novel.  But the book also doesn’t take that much time before Nate is convinced that it was murder and then has to figure out who and why.  I did catch on to a few things early on, but I didn’t have the entire thing figured out until the end.  Having said that, I feel like the book could have explained the why a bit more.  Thinking about it after I finished the book, I was able to come up with the reasons why things unfolded as they did, but a confirmation would have been nice.  Or maybe I’m just overly picky wanting to have everything spelled out for me.

This is a PI novel in the classic sense.  That means that Nate is the main returning character.  Yes, there are a few others we’ve seen before, but they are mostly background players.  Any of the characters who play a major part in the story are new here.  They are all interesting characters, and I enjoyed getting to know them.

Since this is a PI novel, it does have a bit more language and violence than in the books I usually read.  This is kept to a minimum, however, and I appreciated that.  A few of the characters do speak quite freely in the slang of the day.  While I appreciate the attention to detail, a little less of it would have been appreciated.  On the other hand, it does give the feeling of a classic PI novel set during that period.

As always, I enjoyed reading about LA.  Granted, this is set long before I was born, but it’s still fun to see locations I am familiar with pop up in a story.

If you enjoy PI novels, you’ll be glad you checked out the Nate Ross series.  Bring the Night will keep fans of the genre turning pages.

Check out the rest of the Nate Ross Mysteries.

Book Review: Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: The short stories are great

Cons: The back section is very heavy

The Bottom Line:

Story collection

Kinsey; insights to author

Glad I picked it up

Short Stories and Essays

At some point while working my way through the Kinsey Millhone Mysteries, I knew I’d want to tackle Kinsey and Me.  This is not a typical entry in the series, and it many ways it could be an introduction to the character of Kinsey Millhone and her creator, Sue Grafton.

The book is broken into two sections.  The first section is made up of nine stories featuring PI Kinsey Millhone and some of the cases she has worked in her town of Santa Teresa, California.  These have all appeared elsewhere before being collected here, but if you weren’t reading short story magazines in the 1980’s and 1990’s (when most of these were originally published), then they will all be new to you.

Just what kind of trouble does Kinsey get into?  A woman comes to Kinsey’s office to report a dead body in her daughter’s bed, only for the body to vanish before Kinsey can show up.  Then she’s hired to find a missing wife.  Did a man fall off his roof, or was he pushed?  A woman insists that her sister was murdered, but there is no evidence.  And Kinsey gets pulled in when an actor is kidnapped.

The last story in the collection, involving killer twins, is a bit weak, but the rest are fun.  No, they don’t have the full development of a novel, but for a quick visit with Kinsey, they will fit the bill.  It is obvious that these stories appeared elsewhere originally since Kinsey introduces herself in every story.  We could have done without that, but it’s a minor complaint.  As I said earlier, if you haven’t met Kinsey before, you can easily jump in here because these stories are all Kinsey.  Only one other character from the series actually appears, but for the part she plays in the story, you don’t need to know more about her than you get here.

These short stories take up about 70% of the book.  After a brief essay about PI novels in general, we move into the back section of the book where Sue Grafton gets personal.  She was raised by two alcoholics, a functioning alcoholic father and a self-destructive alcoholic mother.  In this section, we get thirteen vignettes that she has written about her family and their relationships.  Yes, she has given the characters names, calling herself Kit, for examples, but these are highly autobiographical.  I’m sure this was therapeutic for Sue when she wrote them, and I can see them being useful for others in her situation, but I’ll admit, I found them rather depressing.  I’d been looking forward to the essay section when I picked up the book, but I was quickly glad it was a minority of the pages.

Yes, they did do an audio version of this book, and Judy Kaye is the narrator again.  I will admit, it was a little hard to hear the voice I associate with Kinsey narrating some things that were written by Sue Grafton as Sue, but I quickly got used to it.  And, it made me glad that the back section was about “Kit” and not Sue writing about herself since that would has seemed weird as well.  None of this is a slight on Judy Kaye’s narration – she does a good job as always.

Any fan of Sue Grafton’s work will be happy they picked up this book for the short stories alone.  Kinsey and Me includes some fun stories and insight into the life of the author behind the beloved PI.

Check out the rest of the Kinsey Millhone Mysteries.

Book Review: Racing the Light by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #19)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Elvis, Joe, and a mostly interesting story

Cons: Many annoying characters, predictable at times

The Bottom Line:

Finding missing man

Another uneven book

Fans will want to read

Elvis Cole is in a Race to Find a Missing Man

It has been several years since we got a new Elvis Cole and Joe Pike book from Robert Crais.  Once Racing the Light did come out, it took me a while to get it from my library.  I’d forgotten some of my struggles with the series in that time.  Unfortunately, I remember them as I was reading this book.

Adele Schumacher arrives in PI Elvis Cole’s office one day insisting that he find her missing son, Josh.  Her son is in his twenties, and Elvis doesn’t seem to think that it’s any big deal that he has been gone for a few days.  Adele seems to be a little out there, spouting some conspiracy theories during their meeting.  But Elvis figures he will look into it for a day before making up his mind.

When Elvis starts to learn about Josh, his opinions don’t really improve.  Josh is the host of a podcast devoted to aliens and other subjects like that, insisting that he is uncovering the truth.  But Elvis soon uncovers something that makes it obvious Josh might be in danger.  Who are the men watching his bungalow?  Can Elvis find him before it is too late?

As always, the story is compelling with plenty going on to keep us engaged.  It’s a good thing it is fast paced since that doesn’t give us much time to think about how predictable some of the things are.  Even with the fast pace, I guessed a few of the developments before they happened.  Still, I was engaged enough to want to see exactly what was going on and how it was going to be resolved.

I do like Elvis and Joe.  While Elvis gets some development here, Joe is his usual strong, silent self.  Honestly, he is still a very simple character – fun but not that well developed.  The new characters we meet here aren’t much better developed.

I also was reminded how annoying some of Mr. Crais’s characters can be.  He seems to delight in creating immature characters who make the dumbest mistakes possible and then builds a plot around that.  I found several of the characters grating here, in fact, and wanted to smack them.

Luke Daniels’s narration doesn’t help.   Yes, this is one of the series I read via audiobook, and I’d also forgotten that I have a love/hate relationship with this particular narrator.  He can be good when he wants to be.  However, much of the time, he seems to create cartoony voices for the characters that grate.  And when a character is whiney, he really gets into that, too, making me more annoyed with the character.  He does a good job with some of the series regulars, which is a good thing, but he kills some of the sarcasm in Elvis’s narration as well.

Speaking of which, the book is told from Elvis’s first person point of view as well as the third person points of view of some of the other characters.  These switches are always at a chapter break and always clearly labeled, so I never had a problem following.

As you might expect, this book is filled with more language and violence than I normally read.  Honestly, I feel like it went overboard at times.

On the other hand, there is an interesting sub-plot that will make fans of the series take notice.

I know this sounds pretty negative, and this series isn’t one of my favorites.  I feel like I need to keep up with it as a mystery reader in Southern California, so I do.  It’s not that Racing the Light is bad, but it’s not that great either.

Here are the rest of the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Mysteries.

Book Review: “X” by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #24)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun spending time with Kinsey

Cons: Lower stakes, one story has rushed ending

The Bottom Line:

Triple the stories

Keep Kinsey plenty busy

Close to series end

This X Marks an Enjoyable Story

While I wasn’t reading the Kinsey Millhone series before the twenty-fourth book in the series came out, I was aware of it, and I paid attention to each title to see what word author Sue Grafton would pair with that letter of the alphabet.  Naturally, I was wondering what she would do for “X.”  Turned, out, she let it stand alone, with works well for a mystery series, right?

As any fan of the series will tell you, Kinsey Millhone is a PI in Santa Teresa, a very thinly disguised Santa Barbara, California.  While the books were written over roughly 35 years, Kinsey stays firmly in the 1980’s, when the first book in the series came out.  For this book, we are in early 1989.

Before I get to my teaser, I do want to issue a warning: don’t read the official teaser for the book.  Usually, when there is a book in a series I regularly read, I don’t bother with it, and I’m very glad I went into this book blind.  The official teaser has some major spoilers, and I would have found this book much less enjoyable waiting for Kinsey to figure out what we’d been told.

Really, there are three stories in this book intertwined to keep Kinsey busy.  In the first, Kinsey and her landlord, Henry, get a new neighbor, who seems adept at manipulating Henry and, by extension, Kinsey.  Meanwhile, Kinsey makes an interesting discovery while digging through the papers of a late PI for the man’s widow who is facing an IRS audit.  Finally, Kinsey is asked to track down a recent parolee by the man’s birth mother.

I know, when you look at it, this doesn’t look like much, does it?  None of these stories are enough to carry a book on their own, but somehow, combined in this book, they work.  Or at least, they did for me.  I got caught up in the story as in unfolded, and the further we got into the book, the more I wanted to know how things were going to be resolved.  While two of the three stories were resolved well, I felt the resolution to the third was a little weak and rushed.  And, honestly, for some of the foreshadowing the Kinsey did early on, I don’t feel like any of these quite worked their way up to the level of danger that the series has had before.

But that’s a minor complaint overall.  It was a pleasant book with plenty to keep me engaged.

Part of that is Kinsey herself.  I love spending time with her, which is no surprise if I am on book twenty-four in the series.  We got some scenes with the series regulars as well as appearances from some of the recurring players as well.  The new characters were well-drawn enough to make me care about the outcome if the stories.

Naturally, being a PI novel, there is more language and a tad more violence than in the cozies I typically read, although in this book it’s mostly four letter words.  Even those are kept to a minimum.

Again, I listened to the audio book.  I’ve gotten completely used to Judy Kaye’s narration at this point, and enjoy letting her pull me further into the book.

“X” isn’t the strongest book in the series, but it is still enjoyable.  If you sit back and enjoy the ride, you’ll find yourself caught up in the story before too long.

Be sure to investigate the rest of the Kinsey Millhone Mysteries.

Book Review: The Truth We Hide by Liz Milliron (Homefront Mysteries #4)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery, Betty, settings

Cons: I would have liked more of the supporting characters (but it’s minor)

The Bottom Line:

When new client dies

What was motive for murder?

Betty’s next great case

Betty Searches for the Truth About Her New Client

I admire when an author changes up the premise of her series, especially after only three books.  But Liz Milliron did just that with The Truth We Hide, the fourth in her Homefront Mysteries.

This series follows Betty Ahern in World War II Buffalo, New York.  When we first met her, she was working at Bell Aircraft, doing her part for the war.  That’s behind her now, and she is attempting to follow her dream of becoming a private investigator, an ambition that is being encouraged by her father.  She’s still studying for her license when this book opens in May of 1943, but she’s landed herself a new client.

Edward Kettle worked at American Shipbuilding Company.  He’s been accused of giving secrets to a reporter, who then wrote a story about it, but Edward denies it.  He wants Betty to clear his name, but he gets evasive when Betty asks why anyone would want to get Edward in trouble.

Betty decides to press Edward on this the next day only to discover that someone brutally murdered Edward during the night.  It’s only then that Betty learns the truth – Edward was a homosexual.  Edward’s sister wants Betty to finish the job and find Edward’s killer.  Will Betty continue on with the case?  If she does, what was the motive for Edward’s murder?

Betty quitting her job and working full time to become a PI makes sense given what we’ve seen in the first three books in the series.  I enjoyed seeing Betty get more confident about her goals while also worrying about what her fiancé, who is serving somewhere in Africa, will think.  Of course, the practical reason is that it allows Betty to devote more time to detecting, something she couldn’t do with all the hours she had to be at work in the past.

This means the plot is strong.  Betty is focused on proving her client innocent and finding out who killed him.  There are a number of suspects, and they keep her guessing until we hit the logical climax.  I figured it out a bit before Betty did, but not that long before.

I will admit, I almost didn’t pick up this book despite enjoying the previous three books in the series.  When I learned that Edward was a homosexual, I was expecting a book that would turn into a lecture.  I couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Don’t get me wrong, we see just what being homosexual in that time period met, and we see plenty of hateful comments from people we meet about Edward.  And these are also clearly presented as wrong.  While Betty is uncomfortable when she learns about Edward, she also doesn’t agree with the attitudes she runs across.  But she does it without getting into a lecture at all.  The focus of the book is on the mystery, and this is just one aspect of the case.  And all of the attitudes expressed by characters in the book feel realistic for the time, even those that aren’t negative.  I’d been worried about running into modern views in this book, but none of them feel anachronistic.

I will say, we didn’t see enough of the supporting players for me.  I love Betty’s friends and family, and they were definitely background players this time around.  But I did enjoy our time with them.  The suspects were good, some were developed a bit more than others, but we got clear views of each of them and clear motives for them potentially having committed the murder.

There were some interesting threads introduced in this book, and I’m curious if any of them will come into play in the next in the series.

Once again, I was back in 1943 as I was reading.  It was easy to get lost in the time period as Betty tried to find the killer.

If you are looking for a strong historical series that looks at World War II through the lens of life for those left behind, I highly recommend this series.  If you are already a fan, you’ll enjoy The Truth We Hide.

Be sure to read the rest of the Homefront Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: Dead-Bang Fall by J.R. Sanders (Nate Ross #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, plot, and setting

Cons: A bit too much slang early on

The Bottom Line:

Simple turns deadly

With connection to Nate’s past

Strong historical

Helping a Face from His Past

While I got both books published so far in J.R. Sanders’s Nate Ross novels last year, I only got the first one read.  I decided to fix that early in 2023, so I picked up Dead-Bang Fall.

Nate Ross is a PI solving cases in late 1930’s Hollywood.  He’s an ex-cop forced out when he took down a few dirty cops, making him a pariah among his former co-workers.  Even as a PI, he hasn’t lost that distrust from his former brothers in blue.

But Nate’s still getting work.  His most recent case starts out quite by accident.  He’s been hired to figure out if the usher at a small theater is reselling tickets, something Nate quickly confirms.  However, things take a deadly turn when the usher is murdered in a back alley while Nate has him under surveillance.  Nate didn’t witness the murder, but he did see one other man go into the alley – one of the cops he helped convict five years earlier.

So you can imagine Nate’s surprise when this corrupt cop stumbles into Nate’s office a few hours later insisting he is innocent and hiring Nate to find the men he says really committed the crime.  Then his newest client goes on the run, making Nate question the truth.  The more he digs, the more questions he has.  Without a clue who to trust, can he figure out what is really happening?  Or is his client guilty?

As with the first book, this is very much a private eye novel.  As a result, it has a bit more language and violence than I would read in a cozy, but it isn’t excessive.  The one thing that did bother me was an excessive use of slang.  Early on, the characters seem to want to work as much police jargon from the time into the story as they could.  Fortunately, that eased up as the book went along, so the few times it was worked in added to the fun instead feeling overwhelming.

The plot is strong.  Nate doesn’t know who to trust, and with good reason because it becomes clear early on that no one is telling him the whole truth.  But he is good as learning what is truly going on, even if he hits a few brick walls along the way.  The ending was creative and wrapped things up in a satisfying way.

Nate still had some wise cracks in this book, but he was a bit toned down from the first book in the series, or they didn’t hit me the same way they did in the first book.  Still, I grinned several times as his antics.

And he makes a strong lead character.  While we don’t get quite as much backstory here as we did in the first book, we get enough to fully understand the background to this story.  That allows for some interesting growth, and I’m curious to see where things go in the future.

There are a few returning characters in this book, and I enjoyed seeing them again.  The majority of the characters are new, and they came to life for me, keeping me guessing about what exactly was going on as I read.

I also enjoyed reading about Hollywood in 1939, and the setting came to life for me.  While I didn’t spot any cameos by real people, it was still fun to be living life back in the era for a few hours while I read.

If you are looking for a PI novel that harkens back to the early days of the genre, Dead-Bang Fall is for you.  This book will have you turning pages through all the twists and reaching the last one before you know it.

Check out the rest of the Nate Ross Mysteries.

Book Review: “W” is for Wasted by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #23)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Kinsey and other familiar characters make this interesting

Cons: Plot wanders all over the place

The Bottom Line:

Homeless man with note

The plot needed more focus

But characters charm

Distracted Plot Wastes Time in This Book

I’m winding down the Kinsey Millhone series.  I’m actually still trying to figure out how I’ve almost reached the end since when I started, I thought it would be a long time before I got there.  I’ve finished up “W” is for Wasted, which I enjoyed despite the flaws.

Kinsey is a private investigator working in the California coastal town of Santa Teresa, a fictionalized version of Santa Barbara.  She’s facing a stretch with no clients over the next couple of weeks, which she isn’t quite sure how she will fill.  That is, until she gets a phone call from the coroner’s office.  A homeless man has died, and the coroner has no idea who he is.  The only thing they have to go on is Kinsey’s name and office number.  Who might he be?  Why did he have Kinsey’s contact information in his pocket?

This is a pretty interesting premise, and I was immediately hooked.  I enjoyed some of the early revelations as well.  Then the book took a detour.  It’s a logical detour given what came before.  And, as a fan of the series, I was interested in seeing what would happen.  But essentially, we had a sub-plot that took up the entire middle third of the book with no forward progress on the central mystery.  It introduced a few things that are never really resolved.  And the parts of this sub-plot that are resolved are wrapped up almost as an afterthought.

Those familiar with the series know that Kinsey narrates the stories first person for us.  In recent books, we’ve started having chapters from other characters’ third person point of view.  That happens again here.  While I didn’t like to switch since I was interested in what was going on with Kinsey, I do understand that this was most of what was driving the mystery forward for too much of the book.

And yes, there is a crime.  We get to it eventually.  By the time we do, it’s just a matter of seeing how Kinsey can figure out what we’ve already learned from the other chapters.  There are one or two things from this part that also get dropped in the rush to wrap things up.  Given how long this book is, that’s saying something.

Here’s the thing – despite the flaws, I did enjoy this book.  Mostly, that’s because I love Kinsey and the other supporting characters.  Yes, we see the regulars again, although one really only has a cameo.  Meanwhile, a couple recurring characters pop up, which was nice.

As always, Judy Kaye did a good job with the audiobook.  She does a great job of bringing the characters and story to life without becoming too much a part of things.  Frankly, I wonder if the fact that I was listening to this book instead of reading it kept me from being as frustrated by the slow-moving plot as I would have been otherwise.

I definitely wish the plot had been structured differently and the book were tightened overall.  I think fans of this series will still enjoy “W” is for Wasted.  However, if you are new to the series, I wouldn’t recommend you start here.

Looking for more?  Here are the Kinsey Millhone Mysteries in order.

Book Review: “V” is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #22)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Kinsey and the cast; plot at times

Cons: Weak sub-plot; poor climax

The Bottom Line:

Trail of shoplifter

With weak subplot and climax

Series fans only

Stumbles at the End

I have long maintained that to truly judge a story you have to experience the entire thing.  Sometimes, what you are finding annoying clicks into place late in the story and makes up for the annoyance.  And, sometimes, a book suffers from a weak climax.  Sadly, “V” is for Vengeance falls into that second category.

This is the twenty-second book in Sue Grafton’s famous Kinsey Millhone mysteries.  I’ve been listening to these in order and mostly enjoying them.  Kinsey is a private investigator in the town of Santa Teresa, a very thinly disguised Santa Barbara, California.

This book finds Kinsey in the right place and the right time to foil a shoplifter.  She is surprised to find that the shoplifter kills herself the next day.  But the surprises keep coming when the dead woman’s fiancé hired Kinsey to prove that the woman didn’t kill herself.  The fiancé doesn’t think she was a shoplifter either, so he and Kinsey have a contentious relationship from the very start.  But can Kinsey figure out what really happened?

One thing I’ve noticed in the last few entries in this series is chapters written from other character’s third person points of view.  Sometimes, they take place in the past and help pull us into the story by giving us details that Kinsey doesn’t have yet.  In this case, they take place in the present.  They introduce a sub-plot that I truly couldn’t care any less about and slowed down the main story.  The plot would have been stronger if these chapters were completely removed from the book, and we wouldn’t have missed a thing.

It's a shame the book has these chapters since the main mystery was good.  The chapters written from Kinsey’s first person point of view were fantastic and really drew me in.  I got so invested that the further I got into the story, the harder it was to stop.  In fact, there was a moment about two thirds of the way into the book where I had a very hard time stopping for the rest of the story.

And then I came to the climax.  It’s actually weak overall.  I understand why Kinsey did what she did, but events would have happened the same way without her.  There are other aspects to the climax that were disappointing, and one character’s actions didn’t ring true at all.

Which is a shame since I enjoy spending time with Kinsey and her friends.  After spending so much time with them, just hearing their names can make me smile, and that happened again here.

As always, I listened to the audio of this book.  Judy Kaye continues to do a good job of bringing the story to life.

Fans will still want to read “V” is for Vengeance.  If you are new to the series, I definitely recommend you give it a try.  The early books make it obvious why the series has amassed the loyal fans it has.

Check out the rest of the Kinsey Millhone Mysteries.

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.

Check out the rest of the Nate Ross Mysteries.