D. B. Borton

1986, business-partners, golf, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, investigations, laugh-out-loud, local-law-enforcement, multiple-murder, private-investigators, read, women-in-history, women-s-equality*****

WASP was a special contingent of women in WW2 who flew targets for the military but were not allowed to be in the military. The mystery story is fiction but pays tribute to the real women of the past.
Who really believes in coincidence? Not Cat Caliban and Moses Fogg, Private investigators. They became acquainted with one of the women of the WASP and she asked them to investigate and old suspicious death and a couple of recent ones that the local PD didn't think were worth the time. The investigation is convoluted and the solution surprising. Less instances of verbal humor than earlier books, but enough to balance some of the realities. Loved it!
National WASP WWII Museum and the Women Airforce Service Pilots check it out.… (plus d'informations)

1980s, Cincinnati, snarky, situational-humor, verbal-humor, prison, prisoners, stalker, friendship, friends, frustration, family-drama, family-dynamics, local-law-enforcement, secrets, series, childcare-issues, childhood-trauma, child-custody, murder-investigation, multigenerational, multicultural, private-investigators, widow, siblings*****

Cat Caliban and her good friend, retired cop Moses Fogg are looking for a young woman newly out of prison for a number of reasons. Among other things, this middle aged pair wind up housing and caring for the missing woman's young children! Along the way they have to contend with cops, a killer, a nasty man trying to gain custody of those children, and a few dead bodies, and childhood hijinks. Excellent read!
I never worked in prisons, only as nurse in jails, but much of the inherent problems with the systems ring decidedly true.
This is a great series and I am trying to read a few good things from my TBR pile!… (plus d'informations)

1980s, Cincinnati, snarky, verbal-humor, widow, friends, friendship, secrets, family-dynamics, family-drama, corruption, law-enforcement, pollution, eco-awareness, murder, murder-investigation, multigenerational, private-investigators, arson, conspiracy, chemical-plant, toxic-waste, illegal-dumping, series, goons, Tennessee*****

As a humorous mystery it's great, but even more it is a cautionary tale worthy of a post menopausal Erin Brockovich.
As for the mystery, Cat and friend drive over to Tennessee because of an uncle's death. But it was VERY suspicious and lots more irregularities kept coming up as the investigated the will which (among other things) left all of his clothing to his niece. Good sleuthing and lots of laughs to balance out some hard truths. Excellent read!

Boomerang Books/IBPA… (plus d'informations)

This is a gem of a book, and I highly recommend it. It's the summer of 1961 in Houston, and private detective Harry Lark is hired to look into a pair of visitors who have an interest in building a Space Center there. Then a man ends up dead, and Harry's focus changes.

Meanwhile, his 12 year old daughter Dizzy gets a case of her own. Dizzy and her friends are aspiring Nancy Drews, and when a little girl in the neighborhood comes to them asking to prove that her daddy didn't die in a recent train wreck, they learn the the highly improbable belief is actually possible.

The two cases cross paths, and father and daughter team up to solve each other's mysteries in a noir story that lives in the history of Houston during 1961.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters of Dizzy and Harry. Their father daughter relationship is charming in a hard boiled detective story kind of way. I'm somewhat reminded of the relationship in the movie Paper Moon, and I'm not sure why.

And speaking of movies, I think this has a great potential to be considered for one. There is a diverse supporting cast, as the civil rights movement factors into the plot, and the equally diverse culture of Houston is well portrayed. Weird suggestion-- if the author can get the attention of some Texas born actor like, say "Jensen Ackles," I could totally picture him in the role of Harry. I know, that's a silly idea... but what if... I hear he's free in about a year...

My only criticism is that, as smart as Dizzy is, I sometimes felt that her first person narrative sounded too adult for her character. But that's a minor complaint that I can forgive.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)