I don't think men should write sex scenes from women's points of view. We do not know what it's like. This was very obvious to me, again, and not a great start to my experience of this story. Add in a dead-in-a-gross-way female sex worker, a macaw that's been taxidermied by an amateur, and stakes I simply could not be less interested in, and this would've been a Pearl-Rule for me had it not had some silly, snappy dialogue...just enough to convince me to keep on.

<I>Barely</I> enough. But enough.

The contrived personal health dilemma of the detective never quite persuaded me ... otherwise choices and plot rather formulaic .. but satisfactory enough ...

This starts very slowly. At about 1/4 in it became a bit more interest but the characters aren't very colorful and the writing uneven. The idea of the macaw is funny yet perfect for the crime. The transfer of a cop from animal control to a team investigating major crime isn't believable. Not a cozy but not gritty either.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

law-enforcement, Florida, cancer-survivor, smuggling, artifact, diamonds, due-diligence, action, humor, surfer, procedural, teamwork, family, friendship*****

Her mom died with her birth, her dad was killed in the line of duty when she turned 18, and at 26 she has just survived surgery and chemo and has returned to the Job. But the placement was in animal control as a stepping stone, only she stepped up jumping several rungs to Homicide detective in VERY short order. That's what happens when you stumble upon a scheme involving a large exotic bird who is carrying an unbelievable amount of expensive diamonds in it's body. And then there are the murders. And the tie-in to a cruise ship, pro footballers, and a whole lot more. Loved the characters!
There are brief episodes of erotica, but not the prolonged or detailed sort.
This is a new author for me and I hope she writes many, many more! Excellent read!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Black Rose Writing via NetGalley. Thank you!

I received a free electronic copy of this whodunit from Netgalley, Ricky Ginsburg, and Black Rose Publishing on December 9, 2020. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. This was a fast-paced, intriguing tale with personable characters and a well-defined setting. I was pleased to be back in Florida on our cold winter days...

The only way this book could have been improved would be to make the Mccaws plastic piggy banks or woven knickknacks. As a bird lover, I hated to see them so used. But it was a good read all told and Ricky Ginsburg is an author I will watch for.

Fast paced, entertaining, humorous, quick read. Don't expect reality, but go with the flow. Fun characters. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

A very interesting police procedural. Officer Valarie Garibaldi has suffered some hard knocks in her young life. Her mother died giving birth to her, her father was killed in the line of duty and she has just survived a battle with cancer. As a detective with the Animal Cruelty Division, the death of a Blue Macaw has her temporarily assigned to homicide. The bird was stuffed with diamonds and the person listed as the owner of the bird has been murdered. Working with homicide Detective Deesay Becerra, they are called to another murder scene, one very similar to the other murder. Will they be able to trace the killer and the missing birds before others lose their lives? I enjoyed the comfortable and humorous writing style of this author and the upbeat attitude of Valarie as she never gives up and moves on with the hand she was dealt. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Officer Valarie Garibaldi is a cancer survivor. She lost the ability to have children, and her hair. She's dealing well with both, in fact, she shaves her head every day. She kind of likes the bald look. Her biggest dream is to follow in her late father's footsteps ... she wants to earn the same gold badge as he did.

She gets her chance.... at least it's a way in ... working with the animal patrol. Not an exciting job .. but it is a job. So she musters everything she has when a call comes from a local vet. A huge blue macaw has died in his office. Okay ... not so exciting. However, this bird happens to be full of diamonds ... very large diamonds, nothing under 3 or 4 carats and one is about 12 carats. There is also a murdered hooker and she's filled with bags of heroin.

Working with veteran detective Deesay Becerra, she's given a field promotion to the Homicide Department.

As the two female detectives investigate, they catch two more killings ... Miami Dolphin players ... two more giant diamond carrying macaws. What is the connection? That's the question of the day.

Garibaldi is a unique character ... not only the fact that she has beat the cancer odds, but she's feisty, determined, smart, and has a great sense of humor. Once her colleagues get used to her bald head and her ability to toss back anything they throw at her, they all develop respect for each other.

There is a lot of action, a lot of humor, a police procedural without a lot of descriptive graphic violence. I'd consider it up 2 or 3 stages above a cozy. I enjoyed all the characters, even the bad guys weren't "that" bad. I would love to see Garibaldi in a series.

Many thanks to the author / Black Rose Writing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this most interesting crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

An enjoyable, fast read with lots of action. The main character drives the story, but there’s plenty of adventure to keep you reading.