Moonlight Avenue by Gerri Hill is a private investigator mystery. Publisher: Bella Books, coming March 19, 2019.
Finley Knight, ex-cop turned private investigator, lives a lonely, solitary life. She uses her downtime to reflect on the past and wonders what could have been.
Detective Dee Woodard transferred to Corpus Christi nine years ago to put distance between herself and her ex. . .an ex she was still in love with. A murder investigation leads her to Moonlight Avenue and Finley Knight.
Rylee Moore left the windy plains of Amarillo in her rearview mirror, hoping to start over in this city by the bay, only to find employment hard to come by. Finley Knight wasn’t hiring either, but Rylee’s begging and pleading―and not taking “no” for an answer―finally lands her a job. Not as an apprentice, as she wanted, but as the lone employee at Moonlight Avenue Investigations―receptionist.
After a gruesome third murder, Dee is booted from the case. She joins Finn’s team. . .the chase bringing them closer and closer to a vicious drug dealer.
Amongst the chaos, crime, and cover-up. . .love pokes its head above the water. But can they stay alive long enough to explore it?
This is a departure from what I normally read, but I like the premise of three strong women living in their own world going about their own business. It’s when the twain shall meet that this drama kicks it up a notch when first Finn’s client is murdered and then while trying to solve this, her one and only friend is caught in the crosshairs and is killed. And it is these two murders and a third that occupied this intense mystery that had me wrapped up in all that was happening.
The author did a great job in providing a visually descriptive narrative with dialogue to match that set the tone throughout this fast-paced and action-filled drama. The suspense factor was evident in this engaging mystery that had me devouring every scene as each one led to the next in its intensity as the characters were fraught with determination in solving this puzzling case as well as their own personal stake. The portrayal of the characters was well-defined and I liked how they played off of one another.
Because I believe in diversity in my reading, I gave this book from popular LGBTQ publisher Bella Books a chance and I’m glad I did, and as I stated above, I liked the premise. While there were a few romantic scenes that were unnecessarily graphic, the overall mystery kept my attention and again, the characters stood out.
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FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher.