Steve Rockfish is a Private Investigator in Pennsylvania. But work has been thin to non-existent thanks to the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He's got a lot of bills and not a single job to cover those bills. His prized possession, his car, is at extreme risk of being repo-ed and he'll need to hide it until he can make payments again.

When a job opportunity arises, and a pretty simple one at that - investigate a location and the legend of a supposed child-trafficking ring, on behalf of a proposed television program - he eagerly takes on the job.

Early in the investigation Rockfish meets Jawnie McGee, the great granddaughter of a local policeman gone missing while investigating the original crimes. That policeman's notes have been sitting in a file box for decades and Jawnie's been trying to get them turned over to her. The new chief sees no reason for Jawnie not to have them, so she has picked up the box the same day that Rockfish introduces himself to her.

Jawnie and Rockfish join forces to go through Jawnie's great grandfather's notes. What neither realizes is that there are forces at work in the community doing some work that they don't necessarily want exposed to someone like an out-of-towner PI or a snoopy descendant of a cop. When those forces have deep connections inside the police department, it means trouble for Rockfish and McGee.

Lately I've had a serious interest in reading 1950's & 60's style pulp fiction and I've wondered if there's anyone writing in this vein anymore, so I was drawn to this book based on the cover and the description, which seemed right up my alley. I'm glad to say that it is.

Author Ken Harris manages to write a hard-boiled mystery in our very modern setting. It's a really nice blend.

The book, while being a mystery and action story, really relies character to drive it. Here that character is primarily Steve Rockfish and in moderation, Jawnie McGee. We don't get a lot of background of either character and our understanding of them is based solely on how they react to the events in the story. We see that Rockfish is cool and collected even when faced with direct threats and while being shot at. He's classic tough guy PI.

Jawnie is a little more of an enigma. She doesn't come with the investigator's experience, but she does have desire and the fresh, untainted, expectations that counter Rockfish's gruff outlook. The complement each other well through the course of the investigation.

Steve and Jawnie do require a little outside help to get them through, which is a little bit convenient.

As someone who grew up watching P.I. television shows from the 70's and 80's, I can't help but compare Steve Rockfish to Jim Rockford. There's even a character named "Angel" here ("Angel" was Rockford's 'sidekick'). I definitely would have preferred a name that didn't seem like it was a parody.

I liked the way this story ends (I don't want to give it away) and it makes me eager to read the next volume in what I hope will be a long-running series.

Looking for a good book? The Pine Barren Stratagem by Ken Harris is a solid, classic PI action story set during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you like 1970's P.I. television, or 1950's/60's hard-boiled detective fiction, this is a book need to read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netglley, in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a nice change of pace. The plot was excellent and the interaction between the main characters was really enjoyable. Pretty good debut!

This new mystery was a delightful blend of old world and new world detective skills with Rockfish and his potentially new protege, Jawnie. These two are as far apart as you can imagine when it comes to their thoughts and abilities except when it comes to wearing a darn mask because of COVID.

The mystery spans about a century when Rockfish is hired to investigate young women that went missing. There is a lot more to the story and it definitely ruffles some feathers once Rockfish lands in this small township and starts asking questions. The mafia plays a major role in what happens in this sleepy burg and they are not a fan of dredging up the past.

The dialogue is snarky and witty, the characters a bit crazy in their actions, but paired together it creates a fascinating read for any mystery buff. Jawnie has a lot to learn about who to talk to and what to say when it comes to investigations, but Rockfish is a great teacher and there are only a few "I told you so" moments.

This is set at the beginning of Covid-19 so there are a lot of references to the pandemic, wearing masks, hand sanitizer, and political jabs. I tended to skim over most of that because I really prefer to not have too much about the pandemic in my books since they are my form of escape, but it was rather comical to see many of the characters insist that others put on face masks and were rather insistent on it too. Of course, the face masks help during certain scenes when the bad guys don't want to be identified.

I loved the ending and might have suspected some of it, but it sets it up for the next book due out in July 2022.

We give this book 5 paws up.

A strong mystery tale that will likely satisfy many fans of the genre. This is an unpredictable and imaginative story with good pacing and some humor. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!