After Thanksgiving when new wine rests on the lees at bubbling ferment, family secrets tumble out in a drenching rain, blind to who gets hurt. A drug deal unravels into murder, kidnap and redemption as PI Jake Knight helps his client see the light.
The first thing I have to say about this book is how pleasantly surprised I was to find that knowledge of the previous book wasn’t needed to enjoy this one, and the plotline of the first one didn’t get jammed down my throat in an infodump glob. The story jumps right in, and only the most necessary information is laced through the book, added in small, easily digestible dollops.
I found the book to be a fun read, though I question calling it a ‘mystery’, since there’s no mystery. It may be a mystery from the characters’ POV, but the reader knows everything that’s going on, thanks to several chapters told from the bad guys’ perspectives. A better category for this book would be action/adventure.
My main criticism of this book is that the characters don’t get stressed very much. Nearly every problem they encounter is resolved quickly and easily, with minimal harm and no further complications. Plans go off without a real hitch. The situations don’t create a sense of urgency or give the impression that anything really bad could or would happen to the main characters. Bad guys are bad and good guys are good.
That said, I did enjoy it as escapist modern fantasy, complete with a scoop of the paranormal. Otter and Mamie steal the show as secondary characters with a heaping pile of personality each. The rest of the characters are fine, just not as vivid.
Overall, I recommend this as a beach read – a fun, light diversion.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.