Detective Fiction Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: First Kill: An Eli Quinn Mystery by Robert Roy Britt

★★★★★

Most private eye mysteries have a tendency to fall into common tropes and expected stylization, and there is rarely a reboot within the genre. Robert Roy Britt, the author of First Kill, works against that common grain and has created a believable and likable private eye in Eli Quinn that doesn’t seem like a cliché stepping out of a film noir classic. With two books about Quinn firmly under his belt, the author has settled into a comfortable writing style, seemingly effortless, which drives this book’s unpredictable plot forward at a perfect pace.

When a woman named Madison […]

Drone: An Eli Quinn Detective Novella by Robert Roy Britt

Man will always twist technology to devious intent; that much is obvious. When drone technology is involved in the assassination attempt of an Arizona politician, few are so qualified to deal with the crime as one Eli Quinn.

In his second published adventure of the series, private investigator Eli Quinn is once again on the case, roped in after friend and lawman Jack Beachum passes on suspicions about the investigating sheriff. A man familiar with the technology involved, Quinn must piece together the scattered shards of truth left in the wake of this tragedy with scant few clues and fewer […]

James Grimsby2019-01-24T19:43:16+02:00August 29th, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Detective Fiction Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: The Ring of Gallows by Gary Whorley

★★★★

Jake Achilles is an old-school cop: when sh*t hits the fan, he’ll shoot first and ask questions later, and he’ll break the law to protect it. When Jake and his partner, Kruger Odysseus, follow the cooling trail of a beguiling murder, they might just be digging too deep. As gangs form dangerous new alliances, mysterious happenings crop up all over the city, is the New York city of Elysium really all it seems to be, or is there something yet darker below the surface? What will happen when a jealous curse is foolishly let loose? The mystery of The […]

James Grimsby2019-01-22T15:35:52+02:00March 8th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Detective Fiction Book Reviews, Noir Book Reviews, Paranormal Book Reviews|

Review: The Fo’c’sle Door By Les Cribb

The Fo’c’sle Door by Les Cribb is a time-traveling mystery saga set in seafaring 18th Century/21st century Cornwall England.

The forecastle, a superstructure in the bow of a merchant ship where the crew is housed; – the spelling is intended to reflect the common pronunciation among seamen.

When unsavory character Whitt arrives from Canada for a friend’s wedding in the Cornish fishing village of Ryeport, he is met off the plane by the mysterious Sexton, a man intent on talking about voodoo and reincarnation. As Whitt struggles to understand why everything is so familiar to him, events intensify, and […]

Cate Baum2019-01-22T17:14:35+02:00February 22nd, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Detective Fiction Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: Barely Breathing by Michael J Kolinski

Barely Breathing by Michael Kolinski is an edgy thriller that isn’t afraid to take on difficult subject matters to get the reader to think as well as be entertained.

Jake Wood has recently survived a tragedy that left seven people dead. When his cousin, Jana, learns of the situation she reaches out to Jake and invites him to visit her in sunny California. Jake is in dire need of a vacation and accepts the invitation.

As soon as he steps off the plane, things are troublesome. First, Jana doesn’t pick him up at the airport. Then she doesn’t answer repeated […]

T B Markinson2019-01-22T17:45:19+02:00November 7th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Detective Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Border Field Blues By Corey Lynn Fayman

The second book in the Rolly Waters Mystery series, this detective novel by Corey Lynn Fayman sees the detective hired to track down the perpetrators of damage to the protected preserve of least terns at the Mexican border with San Diego, at a time when Border Field State Park separated Mexico from the US with a chain, just by the Tijuana bullring instead of the fortified double wall that now exists.

A thoroughly-researched work, this story pops with the sort of detail only garnered through living it (the old adage “you couldn’t write it” stands true) and gathering information of […]

Cate Baum2019-01-22T17:47:37+02:00September 13th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Detective Fiction Book Reviews, Men's Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: There’s Always Another Case by William Thomas

This crime drama features two very unique characters: John “Smooth” McGovern, a detective on the police force, and his partner Rita “Cheeks” Goreman. They are the homicide squad and, as in real life, they are faced with budget cuts, piles of paperwork and the fact that they must move on when a case turns up dead ends, because there is always another case. No glamor here, just hard core cop story with all the reality thrown in.