Surprisingly, I enjoyed reading this book despite its flaws. There are several logical errors, like the police not investigating a murder because it was a mugging gone bad. There's also too much trivial dialogue, especially in the first half, and several unnecessary repetitions. But an easy and enjoyable read.

Set in a small town, south of Sydney Australia, this book centres round a private investigator, Dan Mc Ginnis. He is investigating the murder of Jeremy, a legal counsel to the owner of a media empire. The book was a bit too graphic for me at times but I still enjoyed the read. It was well written and had interesting characters. My thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

noir, private-investigators, tabloid, australia, meaningful-violence, extortion, networking

The McGinnis Detective Agency is run by a savvy white knight and a group of people who specialize in different aspects of the business. And they're a gas! The publisher's blurb is a pretty start, but if you think you'd enjoy reading about how a scumbag tabloid editor who enjoys a sizable income from extortion gets taken down this is the book for you! I certainly enjoyed it and rooted for the good guys even when they were getting bashed. Hope there's a next book in the plans!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beach Nut Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Jeremy Brooks is a lawyer for a rag magazine whose job it is the keep the the magazine from getting sued. He gets increasingly frustrated with the tactics of the owner and threatens the man and then quits. He is murdered that same evening while on his way to meet his wife for their standing date. The murder is made out to look like a mugging gone wrong. Jeremy's wife hires a PI because she disagrees with the mugging theory.

This is a quick and fun read. I like the way all the threads of the story tie together, however, there are a few things in the story that I never completely understood. Otherwise I really enjoyed the story and it is totally worth the read.

Easy read. McGinnis Investigations, a white knight PI firm, is hired to investigate the murder of Jeremy Brookes because his wife doesn’t believe the theory that it was a “mugging gone wrong”. Through the rest of the book, and the case, you keep guessing who killed Jeremy and why.

Thank you NetGalley and BeechNut Press for this advanced reader edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partners

Simple Writing and Twisted Plot

McGinnis Investigations is hired by a woman to bug the home of a man to help her cancel a pre-nup agreement. While sorting that out, they are also hired to investigate what looks like a mugging gone bad, but the victim’s wife is convinced he was murdered. The slimy tabloid he worked for is uncooperative, and it looks as though they’re not above smearing anyone to quiet them. Everything gets tangled up, though, and a devious plot is planned by the investigators to catch the culprits.

There was quite a bit of meaningless banter between characters which did serve to help you get to know them. I was disturbed, though, by the gratuitous use of the “F” word throughout the novel. Don’t know why authors think they need to spice up their dialog with vulgarity. All in all, though, the story was entertaining, had a clever plot twist that had me laughing, and all was sorted out at the end.

Keeping the reader's interest long enough for the story to grab them is a fine art and Tony McFadden seems to have conquered it. From the first page to the last, our cast of diverse characters join efforts to find a killer. The story line is well defined. The characters are true to the story line and the whole book is a very enjoyable change from the usual Mystery/ thriller.