The Penny Detective (2014) by John Tallon Jones
Stanley Morris-Shannon (aka Morris, aka "Moggsy") is a detective. At least that's what he says. Up till now his cases have involved tracking down missing cats and dogs and photographing insurance liabilities (like dangerous cracks in sidewalks). But in walks Karl Ashford, minor league villain and tough guy, with an offer Morris can't refuse. Karl's brother Billy has been nabbed for the murder of his (Billy's) wife's ex-lover. And Karl says Billy didn't do it. Billy has an alibi. But, since the alibi consists of robbing a warehouse, they're not exactly keen to produce it for the cops. Karl wants Morris to track down the real killer so Billy will be cleared without need of an alibi. Oh...and have we mentioned that Billy's disappeared? Which, of course, has made the cops doubly suspicious. But the more Morris and his sidekick Shoddy dig up, the more it looks like Billy really did do it. But then things take an unexpected turn....
Spoilers ahead!
I would have loved to have been able to give this a glowing review. One of my Secret Santas in 2016 sent me this and the second Penny Detective novel as part of my gift. But I just can't do it. I'm not a huge private eye/hardboiled detective fan, but when I do read them I want them to be good. And this one just isn't. I assume the title is a reference to how much Morris Shannon's services are worth, because he certainly isn't a very good PI. Of course, he really hasn't been all that good or dedicated at any of the jobs he's had up till now, so why would opening up his own private detective business be any different? If he didn't have his ex-cop bestie Shoddy to do his leg work, he wouldn't be solving anything ever. And even when Shoddy serves him up clues on a silver platter, he takes an incredibly long time connecting the dots. Some of the time, he doesn't even connect them, but manages to stumble into the right answer anyway. Added to this, I found it annoying to be set up for some sort of crooked gangland argument turned murder only to find Shannon in the middle of a secret agent/double agent spy thing. the icing on this not-so-delicious cake was the need for a real editor. I don't know if G-L-R (Great Little Reads) is a publisher or Jones' self-publishing moniker, but the number of grammatical errors and editing gaffes is large enough that it was pretty distracting. If the story is engaging enough, I can ignore them and enjoy the story. But I wasn't invested enough in Shannon and his adventures to do that here. I seem to be the outlier among the folks who have given written reviews on Goodreads--so your mileage may vary. ★ and 1/2
First line: I was christened Stanley Morris-Shannon, but only my mum calls me Stanley, and only then when she is ticked off with me.
Last lines: I told him I would think it over.
And I still am.
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Deaths = 7 (one hit on head; one car bomb; two natural; three shot)
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