Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller focusing on a detective agency. This is the second book in the series but can be read as a stand alone. I haven’t read book 1, but there was enough reference to what happened in that book that I didn’t feel lost. Matt and Steve are the two detectives in the agency. Matt was a police office but took over the agency after the death of his father. As this book begins, the duo hire an office manager, Carol, who is highly qualified. It’s implied that she worked for a highly placed person in the British government, but the author is coy about giving the reader more information. I’m sure Carol’s history will come into play in future books. Or at least, I hope it does.

Matt and Steve are asked to look into a burglary by a divorced mother with two young children. Video is found of the burglars, but the mother claims she doesn’t recognize them, when in fact she knows one of them is the son of a prominent gangster. The woman posts a vague threat to the father of the boy on Facebook, and soon after is found dead. Other strange occurrences in the neighborhood lead Matt and Steve, along with Matt’s girlfriend Karen, an investigator with the police department, to wonder just what is behind everything. To add more problems for everyone to deal with, a woman from Matt’s father’s past shows up claiming she and her father were a serious couple.

I really enjoyed this book. It has private detectives, police investigators, a smart and capable office manager, a cast of dodgy characters and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I really liked Matt and Steve. They are smart, honest, and believe in working hard for their clients. I love Carol – who I think has more skills than she’s revealed – and every time she discovers a promising lead, I thought “You go, Carol!” I also liked Karen, who is a tough, but fair, investigator who knows what she’s doing and skillfully leads her team so they get results.

This is an engrossing mystery that will keep you guessing. It’s a quick and easy read (at only 282 pages) that you can easily read in an afternoon. It’s currently available on Kindle Unlimited, so definitely check it out.

I was provided a complimentary e-copy of this book by NetGalley and Boldwood Books. All opinions are my own.