Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Rick Steves Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces: Art for the Traveler by Rick Steves & Gene Openshaw

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Rick Steves Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces: Art fo...: Reviewed by Jeanne Rick Steves is probably one of the best known travel guide writers around.   Part of his popularity can be traced to ...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Europe Through the Back Door by Rick Steves

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Europe Through the Back Door by Rick Steves:   Reviewed by Jeanne   So, after the pandemic is over, are you looking to take a trip overseas?   If you’re traveling to Europe for th...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Shooting in the Dark by Carolyn Hougan

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Shooting in the Dark: Carolyn Hougan: After eight years of marriage, Claire Brooks starts an ordinary day, brushing her teeth, getting ready to go to the dentist -- when her husb...

SleuthSayers: Murder Mystery – Spare Me by Leigh Lundin

SleuthSayers: Murder Mystery – Spare Me: by Leigh  Lundin Thanks to a couple of friends, I’ve been indulging in one of John Floyd’s favorite passions– NetFlix. How could I resist a...

Relevant History: Refugees Then and Now by Barbara Ridley

Relevant History: Refugees Then and Now by Barbara Ridley

Lesa's Latest Contest-- Giveaway - Mysteries set in Europe

This week, I'm giving away ARCs of a couple mysteries set in Europe - Lisa
Alber's Path into Darkness (Ireland) and Ashley Weaver's A Most Novel
Revenge (England). Details on my blog at
http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com. Entries from the U.S. only,
please.


-- 
Lesa Holstine
lesa.holstine@gmail.com

http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com

Review: "Gumshoe" by Paul Brazill

New Year’s Day would be ugly enough thanks to the hangover if it wasn’t made worse by neighbors playing a certain and very annoying U2 song over and over. Fortunately in Seatown, a fading town on the northeast coast of England, Peter Ord, can pick up a few bucks here and there as a private investigator so that he can buy the booze and pills he needs to function. Look up self-medicating patient in the dictionary and there would be his name and a picture as he fits the classic definition. Despite his issues with drugs and alcohol he can get the job done when needed and the job is right. One such client is about to be Jack Martin who owns the “Velvettes” and a number of other strip joints in the region.

Jack clearly does not think much of Peter, but what he wants done should be easily handled by a man of his talents such as they are. He thinks some of his girls are giving customers a little too much pleasure outside the club and he wants them identified. If anyone is doing so, he wants to know about it. All he wants Peter to do is fit in with his clientele in the various places and find out what is happening. Considering the shape Peter is in these days, fitting it will not be a problem.

It is a case he can handle and one that indirectly leads to other cases and situations in this dark and very good novella from Paul Brazil. Much like Peter in his life, Gumshoe drifts along at a steady pace with no discernable end point in sight for much of the read. Peter works cases, meets people and makes observations on life. Sometimes funny, sometimes caustic, those observations add color and nuance not only to Peter, but to the cases themselves in this very enjoyable read.

Gumshoe

Paul Brazill

http://pauldbrazill.wordpress.com/

Blackwitch Press

http://blackwitchpress.wordpress.com/

September 2013

ASIN: B00FITKXA0

E-Book (available in print)

65 Pages

$1.99

Amazon advises me I picked this up last December. The author is very generous in making his titles available as free reads and I can’t remember now if I got it that way or he sent it to me directly. Either way it was for my use in an objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014