⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5
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Oh. My. Lanta.
Peter Key may be my new favorite fictional PI.
He’s like if Stephanie Plum was a bisexual pothead. Actually… scratch that. Even stoned, Peter has better deductive skills than Stephanie. And in his defense, it was his neighbor’s car that blew up, not his. Stephanie has blown up, what, four dozen cars by this point? But I digress…
The moment Peter casually referenced Kinsey Millhone, I thought, “Yep… we’re going to be friends.” She was one of my very first favorite fictional private investigators, and any character who appreciates Kinsey is already halfway to winning me over. Bonus points if she’s one of your favorites too.
I’ll admit that this book took me a minute to get into. The beginning is a bit of a slow burn (can mysteries be a slow burn? or is that only for romance? who knows but that’s what it felt like…), but once it gets going, it takes off faster than the Hulk coaster at Universal. Holy cow. The twists just keep coming, and every time I thought I had things figured out, another layer was peeled back.
This book has everything I want in a cozy-ish mystery: a reluctant private investigator, a genuinely creepy villain, beautiful men and women, a delightfully snarky secretary who loves to knit, a pair of shady cops who “always get their man,” a meddling but evasive Aunt Sylvie, a distant sister, and at the center of it all, a young man who makes one questionable decision after another.
The mystery itself was layered with plenty of red herrings, and while I guessed one of the twists a little early, I definitely didn’t see how we were going to get there. Jack Friday kept me guessing right up until the end.
I flew through this book in less than a day and immediately wanted book two. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Peter, Grady, LaShirl, Carlos, and especially Brutus. (Seriously… Brutus might have stolen the show.) And I’m absolutely rooting for Grady and Aunt Sylvie. I love that book one ended leaving the world open for book two and hopefully a full series.
If you’re a fan of Stephanie Plum, Finlay Donovan, or Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, I think you’ll have a blast with this one. It’s funny, quirky, twisty, and just chaotic enough to keep you turning the pages.
Huge thank you to Jack Friday, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!
On sale now, you can grab your copy here.
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