A great contemporary take on a mystery novel. It was a pleasure to read. A more light hearted approach to the genre which was refreshing, making for an enjoyable read as well as incorporating the usual mystery tropes. It will have you guessing throughout. And there's a dog whats not to love.

Aaawwwweee good book! I loved garbage! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, gang bangers, great detective work and it was even funny! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I highly recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

PRIVATE EYE!!

I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I believe that this is the first of the Igg Downs Mystery novels by this author. It is a stereotype of the tough private detective noir. We have read it all before, and it soon becomes a bit predictable.

The protagonist is loosely modeled after the Lawrence Block character of Matt Scudder. Both are alcoholics who sometimes carry a gun, and who like to help those in need of help. This private eye carries a license, while the Block character does not.

Igg (short for Ignatious or Ignatius), is a hard drinking private eye who has made the mistake of sleeping with the ex-wife of a brutal detective at the LAPD. Jake now hates Igg, and will do whatever he can to destroy him. It appears that Jake is a crooked cop. He consistently reappears in crime scenes that Iggy conveniently discovers.

The pace of the story is fast, and most of the characters and dialog are believable. I enjoyed the read, even though I figured out who the bad guys were long before I finished reading the story.

I think this can be a successful series if the protagonist were to spend less time on introspection and feeling sorry for himself, and more time solving the crimes. Altogether, though, I award four of the five available stars and a recommendation for reading of this genre to check out a new character. 4 Stars.

Entertaining and engaging look at the grittier side of Los Angelos. Despite all the dead bodies the story kept me amused. It had a terrific twist. A dog added to the tale.