Three Days Dead by Keith Donnelly is the second book in the “Donald Youngblood” mystery series. Publisher: John F. Blair, August 2009
When Tennessee private investigator Donald Youngblood solved the Fairchild case in Three Deuces Down, he vowed never again to go hunting for a missing person. With live-in-love and Mountain Center cop, Mary Sanders, and his faithful black Standard Poodle, Don’s life has settled back into its old routine.
All of that is about to change. An attractive, precocious teenage girl shows up in his office one morning needing help finding her missing mother.
Now, Don must track down a mother gone wrong while trying to find her abandoned daughter a proper home before child welfare gets the scent. To complicate matters, an old flame is being harassed by a former boyfriend, who is not what he appears to be, and she is begging Don to do something about it.
Tracking down the missing mother with the help of his best friend and partner and Don’s ever-dangerous new friend, the trail of clues leads to a Las Vegas confrontation where Don comes face to face with henchmen of a Vegas bad boy, and nearly pays the ultimate price.
I love this book. A young teenager seeks help in finding her troubled mother and when the trail leads to Las Vegas, Don and his associates go in search of her. Meanwhile Lacy is happily settled in the Youngblood home and her mother is found and disappears again only to succumb to the dark side. I love the plot of this story and the voice of the characters. My rating: 5 stars
*new-to-me author