Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Review: "The Boardwalk: A Gulliver Dowd Mystery" by Reed Farrel Coleman

Private Investigator Gulliver Dowd no longer lives in the loft in Red Hook though he still has some space there reserved for his business. Most of the other loft space is now rented out to artists. Gulliver likes artists as they create and by doing so inspire people. They create something new while he spends a lot of his life thinking about the past, the murder of his sister Keisha, and how society can’t often see beyond the fact that he is a little person. While his small stature does have its advantages at times, his size and overall physical appearance can be a detriment in his line of work. 


A line of work that came about solely because of Keisha’s death. He became determined to succeed when the police failed and find her killer. He reinvented himself by acquiring new skills and talents that he never would have explored if she hadn’t died. Despite his best efforts he still has not gotten any closer to finding her killer. That is until NYPD Detective Sam Patrick decides it is time to tell him something involving Keisha. Unfortunately, he won’t do it over the phone and wants to meet later in the evening at an isolated location.

Sam never makes their meeting and instead is accidentally gunned down by a fellow police officer. Gulliver Dowd is a victim of a deliberate car crash that destroys his vehicle and puts him in the hospital. With Sam dead, Gulliver Dowd is left to try and determine not only what happened to Sam and why, but how it might also relate to Keisha’s murder years ago.

Published by Raven Books, The Boardwalk: A Gulliver Dowd Mystery is the third in a series featuring the diminutive private investigator. Featuring short sentences with little description of setting or dialogue the read rockets forward at a rapid pace. Part of the Rapid Reads series the 150 page book flows by very quickly while delivering a mystery full of misdirection.

It would be best if one plans to read the series (Dirty Work published in March 2013 and Valentino Pier published in September 2013) do so before this one as the book goes into detail regarding earlier books in the series. The Boardwalk: A Gulliver Dowd Mystery by Reed Farrel Coleman is a very pleasant diversion that ends far too soon.



The Boardwalk: A Gulliver Dowd Mystery
Reed Farrel Coleman
Raven Books (Orca Book Publishers)
February 2015
ISBN# 978-1459806740
Paperback (also available as an e-book)
150 Pages
$9.95



ARC was received in exchange for my objective review courtesy of my selection as an Early Reviewer by LibraryThing for the book.  Complications with mail delivery as well as my wife’s recent health issues delayed reading and reviewing this book.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

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