Ed Lynskey has written a compelling yarns that just won't let the reader put it down. Frank is one of those humble, self deprecating, down at the mouth kind of heroes, torn between grieving and being angry at his ex wife. He's mad enough to hire a hit man but she's in his thoughts constantly. Just when he thinks he has a chance again with sweet Rennie Van Dotson she finds his cousin dead. He's on the lam with dead bodies and pendants worth over thirty-five thousand dollars following him whenever a foe drops at his feet. Not exactly the way to build a romance with a woman who has two small kids. Besides that her ex seems to show up whenever he uncovers a swastika or weapons cache.

Secondary characters like Chet, Gerald, Sofia, Doc, Dreema a forensic expert on his side and lawyer Gatlin also help keep the action moving with their antics. The preferred weapons in this tale-except for the lawyer who prefers flamboyance and words-tend to be shotguns that leave quite a mess when someone gets in their way.

This is one of those old fashioned types of private eye thrillers that will always be fun to read. There's a lot of interwoven mystery, some romance but not for the hero and a lot of trails leading to the culprit if you hang with the story and help track them down. That's not hard to do since Mr. Lynskey gets us into the story right away and keeps us there.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet

Reviewer: Dee Dailey
November 5, 2008