Private Eyes

Review - Bridge at the Beach by Garrick Jones

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Clyde is enjoying an afternoon at the beach with some friends, including Detective Sergeant Mark Dioli, when word comes that Mark is needed at the scene of a murder. Two married couples are found dead in a flat near the beach, apparently in the middle of a bridge game. The detective ends up consulting Clyde since one couple was known to him when Clyde was on the force. The husband was a thief Clyde had arrested several times before the man struck it rich and opened a jewelry shop.

Tags: Private Eyes Australia Crime

Review - Murder at the Oasis by David S. Pederson

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Mason's friend Walter talks him into taking a brief vacation to Palm Springs, in part with the promise of a cheap room at a posh resort frequented by Hollywood stars thanks to a friend of Walter's who works there. However, it turns out the friend lost his job and now owns a small motel. What's more, the rest of the guests at the Oasis Inn turn out to be people Mason and Walter would rather avoid, but when one of them, and then another, turns up dead, Mason forgets he's supposed to be on vacation.

Tags: Private Eyes Mystery

Review - The Grocer's Son by Garrick Jones

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Clyde's latest case comes very close to home. His young friend and one-time lover, Harley, comes to Clyde with a strange story. Harley and his mother were in the market one day when they were accosted by a man claiming to be his mother's brother, who was hanged for murder 20 years before. He also says that he is Harley's real father. The young man's mother faints, and the stranger disappears before he can answer any questions.

Tags: Private Eyes Australia Crime

Review - Murder at Union Station by David S. Pederson

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Charlotte Castle is moving to Los Angeles to try and break into the film business. However, just before she's about to board the train at Phoenix's Union Station, the body of her former roommate is found in her trunk. It doesn't look good for Charlotte, so her father hires Mason Adler to prove his daughter's innocence. It doesn't take long for Mason to uncover several people with motive and opportunity, but which one really killed the young woman?

Tags: Private Eyes Mystery

Review - The Gilded Madonna by Garrick Jones

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Clyde returns from a vacation to Melbourne with Harry to find a photo of him and some of his friends from his days in North Africa during World War II delivered to his office. It's the first of several clues that draws Clyde into two seemingly unrelated cases. One is the kidnapping of two children off the street. The other is the re-emergence of a serial killer from Clyde's old days on the police force.

Tags: Private Eyes Australia Crime

Review - Murder on Monte Vista by David S. Pederson

My rating:

Mason Adler is a successful private detective in Phoenix. He often outsmarts the police to get to the bottom of suspicious deaths in the city. On a Saturday night during an unseasonably hot spring, Mason attends a birthday party thrown for him by his old schoolmate Walter. Walter's rather unusual birthday “gift” is for Mason to end the night with a wannabe actor who makes ends meet by turning tricks.

Tags: Private Eyes Mystery

Review - The Cricketer's Arms by Garrick Jones

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WWII Army veteran Clyde Smith quit the Sydney police force three months ago so he wouldn't have to put with the corruption that meant he didn't know who he could trust. He's making a modest living as a freelance journalist and private investigator. One day his ex-partner, and former lover, Sam, shows up with news of a strange murder that someone seems to want Clyde's help solving. As Clyde digs into the investigation, he uncovers a complex web entangling gay men, the Italian mob, drugs, and match-fixing.

Tags: Private Eyes Australia Crime

Review - The Cutie-Pie Murders by Don Travis

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When BJ gets a strange call from his now-jailed nemesis from the first book, The Zozobra Incident, it involves him in a series of murders all involving young, very handsome men who have been sexually assaulted and dumped naked in public places. As usual, there are lots of suspects, and clues that lead nowhere, all while more young men are found dead. Will BJ and his boyfriend Paul be able to figure it all out, or will Paul become one of the killer's next victims?

Tags: Mystery Private Eyes

Review - The Voxlightner Scandal by Don Travis

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When a neighbor of BJ and Paul’s dies, Paul is sure it was no accident. After a call to his police friends, BJ is inclined to agree. The case seems to involve an old scandal that rocked Albuquerque, a scam that drew in most of the city’s elite, yet the case was never completely solved since two of the main players disappeared. As the two men look into the case, it quickly becomes clear that someone doesn’t like them digging up old dirt.

Tags: Mystery Private Eyes

Review - The Lovely Pines by Don Travis

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Albuquerque-based private detective BJ Vinson is back with another case. The job starts out with the simple question of who is breaking into a local winery, The Lovely Pines, and not taking anything of value. But things get serious when one of the winery employees is killed. Is it connected to the break-ins, or is it something to do with the man’s past, or his connection to the family that owns the business?

Tags: Mystery Private Eyes