Ya'll know I love police procedural series, so I was thrilled when Mar asked if I wanted to read the latest Detective Dave Mason novel! I loved book 1, No Dice!
Synopsis: A deadbeat burglar has been found in the upscale Santa Monica beach condo of a playboy studio exec. The dead body must link up with a string of high-tech burglaries. And do the Chechens Mason keeps meeting must link up with each other somehow, but how?
The investigation leads him down mean streets into the dark world of embezzlement and an explosion that almost kills him. The stakes rise as the investigation sends Mason to the Hollywood Russian community to be warned off by the FBI and Homeland Security. A bungled take down results in two murders of key informants. Fingers are pointed. Mason is outranked and the Department blamed.
While Mason brings an international whodunit to an end, restoring his own and the Department's reputation, he finds his relationship with his community activist girlfriend teetering on the edge.
Review: It's the week for books that grab hold and race the reader along to the end, and in my case, in one sitting! Much like her previous book, Mar swings the reader right into the action and gets them hooked by the end of chapter one, so they don't want to put the book down, trying to figure out how the tangled web of deceit and mystery will unwind!
This was a very enjoyable read and I don't want to give too much away- like any series, there are some continuations from book one, but nothing she doesn't give you some back story on. The only thing that might confuse new readers is how attached Mason is to his girlfriend, as she is not the same go-getter/nosey girlfriend she was in the first book. It is understandable and realistic, due to what happened in book one, but new readers may not feel the potential loss of her like readers of the first book.
Mar does an excellent job in keeping you guessing til the climatic end, and while I saw most of the lead ins, there was one small shocker that made one of the characters much more likable and interesting. I highly recommend both books, and am happy to report a third one is in the works!
About the Author: I knew there was a reason I like Mar so much- she grew up in northern Ontario (Canada)- you see, my Canadian ancestral roots just know! HA HA. Mar has lived in Santa Monica for decades, watching big money, land development, and politics clash. Getting a good murder mystery novel out of what goes on behind the scenes in grassroots politics, glitzy businesses, and developer skullduggery makes all those dreary Santa Monica city council meetings worthwhile.
Mar Preston now lives in a village in the California mountains, not that far from the edge of the Los Angeles sprawl. "There's too much to do here: I'm writing crime fiction seriously, but I can't get away from the SPCA, local environmental politics, and the writing community. "she says. FInd out what she's up to on her website!
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from the author, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or other, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it
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