Tag: private investigator

REVIEW: Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt

REVIEW: Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When Corey Douglas was a cop, one somewhat random case always bothered him. He didn’t usually work domestic violence cases, but he answered this call about a neighbor hearing an escalating fight. The alleged victim refused to press charges, saying she fell. Her boyfriend was far too smug to be innocent. But Corey was powerless to do much more than file the report.

Now, Corey and his former K-9 partner, Simon, are PIs along with a couple other investigators, including Andy Carpenter’s wife, Laurie Collins. When the alleged domestic violence victim is murdered in what looks like a drive by, Corey is convinced the boyfriend struck again. The K-Team agrees to help Corey look into the case.

What seemed simple at first becomes more convoluted than any member of the K-Team could have predicted. And Corey has the most to lose if they can’t puzzle out the truth.

Review

This was excellent! Come for the fantastically plotted mystery, stay for the terrific cast of characters and the sassy tone of the writing. Rosenfelt is in fine form with the second K-Team book. All of my favorite characters are part of the case including Andy Carpenter, the defense attorney from Rosenfelt’s long-running series.

The mystery in this one is exceptionally twisty. I had no clue what was going on, but I was happy to just be along for the ride. The resolution was supremely satisfying!

I don’t know that readers have to read the K-Team books in order or to have read the Andy Carpenter books first. The case here stands solidly on its own. But I think readers will enjoy the characters enough to want to go back and fill in the gaps if they start reading here. David Rosenfelt fans should be sure to pick this one up!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!

REVIEW: On Borrowed Crime by Kate Young

REVIEW: On Borrowed Crime by Kate Young

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Lyla Moody is the receptionist for her uncle’s private investigation business and a mystery buff. But she doesn’t expect to be personally caught up in a case in real life.

Carol Timms is a member of the Jane Doe Book Club with Lyla. So when the black BMW almost mows Lyla down, she recognizes Carol in the driver’s seat. She doesn’t get a good look at the person with her, but Lyla can tell Carol’s upset. But she never says anything to Lyla. She only drives away.

A hour later, Judge Timms, Carol’s husband, calls the PI office to hire Lyla’s Uncle Calvin. The judge claims Carol has either gone missing or been abducted.

When Lyla and her best friend Melanie find Carol’s body stuffed in a suitcase and left by Lyla’s door, all their mystery and true crime reading for the Jane Doe Book Club becomes all too real. Who could have killed Carol? Did it have to do with her time in therapy with Lyla’s father? Where there problems in her marriage? Could it be over money? Or does it have anything to do with the cold cases Carol wanted the book club to look into?

Lyla and Mel are determined to find out, both to clear Mel and Lyla’s father of suspicion, but also to ensure closure for their friend.

Review

The case at the center of this mystery is captivating. The Janes are drawn in not only because of Carol’s death but also because of the cold cases she wanted the group to look into. The book group didn’t feel very cohesive, and sometimes they didn’t even seem like friends, which was odd. I expected a cozier group for the namesake of the series. But I did like Lyla and Mel quite a bit, and I enjoyed watching them work through the case. I’m not sure if the author is setting up a romance for Lyla or a love triangle. We’ll have to see how things unfold as the series moves forward.

The author does almost too good a job in coming into the story in the middle of the action. There are references to Lyla’s past obsession with cold cases and subsequent therapy, but I didn’t feel like this was fully explained or explored. It made me feel like I missed a book in the series. I don’t mind that when I start a series with a later book, but this is the introduction to the series, so I want to feel like I have a great handle on the people, the setting, and the context.

The hints about Lyla’s mom’s past are intriguing. Those felt like teasers for something to dig into in a later book, and that was perfectly comfortable for me. I did have a hard time liking her mom, though. She runs hot and cold to the extreme, which started to wear on me in this book. Maybe with more of her backstory, she will either be more sympathetic, or she will relax some of her tight control because she isn’t trying to shield Lyla from the past any more.

The mystery was a mixed bag for me. I picked out the culprit the first time they appeared in the book. I like to work through the clues in mysteries and see if I can tease out the ending before the protagonist, so I was disappointed to figure it out right away. Some of the rest of the case felt scattered – like things were thrown at the wall to see what stuck. Instead of being intrigued by all of the possibilities, they were distracting instead. I do wonder, though, if I would have felt differently about those pieces if I didn’t already know who did it.

There are some solid pieces to this that I loved – Lyla, Mel, Lyla’s grandmother, and Lyla’s job. I might give the second book a shot to see if some other the other pieces tighten up in book 2. (Some language, a few gruesome descriptions.)

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥=Good/solid/fine

REVIEW: Dead-End Detective by Amanda Flower

REVIEW: Dead-End Detective by Amanda Flower

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Hallmark Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Darby Piper and Samantha Porter were detectives in Herrington. Their agency, the Two Girls Detective Agency, had been in business for ten years. But it was all about to end.

Samantha wanted out. As majority owner, with 60% of the business, she got to make the decision. She’d been offered a job as head of security for Lake Waters Retreat. She said she was ready for something more simple and stable.

Then, right before Samantha could sign the paperwork to dissolve the business, she’s killed.

Everyone seems to know the business was closing. Darby would have lost not only her job but also her home in the building where their offices were if that happened. So she is the number one suspect. She was unhappy about Samantha’s plans. She had the most to lose – and the most to gain, at least until Samantha’s nephew, Tate, shows up and learns he has inherited everything, including Samantha’s portion of the business.  Now Darby and Tate are circling each other warily, suspicious of each other’s motives, while also trying to work the case together and determine who killed Samantha.

Review

This was so fun! I loved Darby and Tate together! Tate is a fun character with a fascinating back story. I enjoyed all the things he brought to the book. The author does a great job of teasing out information. There are still some unanswered questions about his background that could be explored in future books. I wasn’t super excited about the hints at a possible love triangle. That’s a matter of personal preference. I don’t care for them. I have my clear favorite for Darby’s love interest, and I have my fingers crossed for that fella.

The mystery in this was front and center. There are a few introductions to the town at large, but most of the action was focused on the case. This made the mystery highly satisfying for me, but I am eager to read more about the town, and the townspeople, in future books.

I was able to figure out the killer about halfway through the book, but I needed Darby’s investigation to understand all the reasons why. This made for a fun reading experience for me. I got to feel triumphant about my armchair sleuthing while enjoying the reveals that the book still held for me.

I could absolutely see this playing out on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. If you are a fan of their cozy shows, you don’t want to miss this one. Amanda Flower fans as well as cozy fans who maybe haven’t tried her work yet should be sure to pick this one up. It’s a fun read with an engaging cast. I am already looking forward to the next Piper and Porter mystery!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great, might re-read

REVIEW: The K Team by David Rosenfelt

REVIEW: The K Team by David Rosenfelt

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Corey Douglas is a former-cop-turned-private-investigator. His business partners are Laurie Collins (wife of much-loathed defense attorney Andy Carpenter), Marcus Clark, and Simon Garfunkel, Corey’s German shepherd. Corey and Simon worked together at the police department before retiring.

Their first case as a team is for local judge Henry “Hatchet” Henderson. He’s a tough, by-the-book judge who is being blackmailed for something he didn’t do. He’s been set up thoroughly. And if he doesn’t do what the black mailers want – something that is still a mystery – they’ll expose him with their fake evidence.

The “evidence” against the judge wasn’t thrown together on a whim. The planning goes back at least 18 months. And there’s a ton of money behind it, too. Who could have been targeting him for all this time? And why? What’s their endgame?

That’s what the K-Team has to figure out.

Review

I’ve been looking forward to this since I read Dachshund Through the Snow last year when readers first met Corey and Simon. And I was not disappointed. I enjoyed the new point of view character and seeing all of my favorites from the Andy Carpenter series.

The mystery here is fantastic! Tons of twists – some I saw coming and others that caught me completely by surprise. One even made me exclaim out loud. There were a lot of things to unwind in this case. It goes to the very last page, too. In fact, for awhile I thought the case might carry over to the next book, but it all gets settled in the end.

I would have loved more with Simon the German shepherd in this one. He doesn’t have a very big role in this case due to the nature of what was being investigated, but I still wanted more. I also wanted more development of Corey’s character. There were a few spots that felt either repetitive or over-explained. We got a lot of Corey waffling over his dating relationship and his concerns about some of the less-than-legal aspects of the investigation. Each of those pieces was a great part of showing us who Corey is, but they were covered often throughout the story.

If you enjoy top notch mysteries with law enforcement/legal system characters (and some great dogs), don’t miss this spin off – or the source material in the Andy Carpenter series. The author has two Andy Carpenter books releasing later this year – Muzzled (currently scheduled for a July release) and Silent Bite, a Christmas story (scheduled to release in October), and I will absolutely be reading both of them!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥