Max
Tomlinson is a native of San Francisco. He is the
author of a crime series set in South America, an international espionage
series, and the Colleen Hayes mysteries, set in 1970s San Francisco. Max also writes under the pen name Max Radin.
Colleen Hayes
killed her abusive husband and spent ten years in prison in Colorado. When she
was released, she drifted into private investigation work and eventually received
her license. Colleen’s main focus was on reconnecting with the daughter who
went into foster care while she was incarcerated and she ended up in San
Francisco, because that’s where her daughter was.
Night Candy is the fifth
book about Hayes, released by Oceanview in July 2023. Colleen is grieving the death
of her first grandchild. Her daughter has disappeared to mourn on her own and
Colleen is left to carry on her fledgling PI business. Fortunately there is no
shortage of wives checking up on husbands and vice versa to keep her gainfully
employed.
A serial
killer who targets prostitutes is prowling the streets. Because of his chosen
victims, the press is calling him Night Candy. Colleen is keeping an eye on a
trio of sex workers that she is trying to persuade to find other sources of
income, hoping to keep them safe. Their pimp isn’t especially happy about her
efforts to deprive him of revenue streams.
In the
meantime one of her few friends on the San Francisco Police Force, Inspector
Edmund Owens, is arrested for the murder of his ex-wife. Colleen is convinced
that he is being railroaded and turns over every stone and cuts all sorts of
corners in her attempt to identify the real killer.
This is a
fast-moving, tightly plotted thriller with more than one surprise as Colleen shreds
the DA’s case against her friend. Colleen Hayes is a great character. She is
the feminine version of the loner private investigator seen in so many crime
fiction series. She takes just as many chances and is just as ruthless as her
male counterparts. Her lack of friends and family weighs heavily on her but not
enough to change her life. I have not read the first four books in the series
and had no trouble following the back story, so they do not have to be read in
order.
Especially
for fans of contemporary female private investigators.
·
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
(July 25, 2023)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 336 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1608094545
·
ISBN-13: 978-1608094547
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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