Book Review: The Corruptible by Mark Mynheir

This was such a pleasant surprise! The second installment in Mr. Mynheir's Ray Quinn mysteries, I'll definitely be playing catch-up and reading The Night Watchman...

Ray Quinn is an ex-homicide cop turned PI with a young and slightly impulsive partner, Crevis. Together with their young, tutor/Girl Friday, Pam, they become embroiled in a high stakes hunt for another ex-cop turned security officer. Mayhem ensues. The characters are fun and well drawn. The language is campy film noir but not to the point of distraction from the tense action of the story.

Quinn is typical of a noir-ish gumshoe but modernized and, while macho, also vulnerable. The ex-cop he's after was once a co-worker and Quinn sees a lot of himself in the sad road taken by his target. No one is perfect in The Corruptible world and that's as it should be. There is just enough detail thrown in by Mr. Mynheir, an ex-cop himself, to make things interesting but not mind-numbing as can often happen when a writer is exceedingly proud of their knowledge/research...

All of the supporting characters are well fleshed out, if a bit numerous. I'll be interested to see how the recurring characters develop.

In the end, Quinn, Crevis and Pam get their man and Quinn even starts down a possible road to redemption. Can you say cliffhanger?

I thoroughly enjoyed this easy but compelling read and recommend it with no reservations!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: Judgment Day by Wanda L. Dyson

I opened this book hoping for a suspenseful read. I hoped for a riveting storyline and engaging characters. As the Rolling Stones sang: "You can't always get what you want."

Ms. Dyson puts forth a good effort but there are details that are oddly disjointed: For example, why does Alex always mess up colloquialisms? Because she's a blue blood? It doesn't add to the character, it's just annoying. What happens to the bodies at the end?

Many things fall neatly (almost too neatly) into place but some things are left untied and those are the things I wanted double knotted. The characters are one dimensional and, especially in the case of Alex, stiff. The motive behind all the mayhem is sketchy.

However, if you are looking for a great beach read; something to keep you on the towel for a couple of hours, this is your book. The relationships are compelling to the extent you will get a good, even tan and, when it's time to go inside, you won't be loathe to put the book down and it will be easy to remember what was going on when you pick it up again.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”