I am being a tiny bit generous here, but the novel (very short) has the style of Philip Marlowe. Story is interesting and I'd read more of the series. ( )

VERY close to a 5-star book. As a rule, I'm not a fan of authors and books featuring the same character(s) over numerous titles, but since this was the first book I've read by this author, I will let it slide. Glad I stuck with it - the first 50 pages or so I thought I was in for another wisecracking PI tale, which it was, but it got much better. Didn't see where it was headed and I enjoyed the plot twists and journey to the conclusion. A fast read, recommended if you're looking for something easy yet enjoyable. ( )

I picked this book up off a shelf in the library, unrecommended. Never read a book by Michael Harvey and I was not familiar with the Michael Kelly series. Not bad. A bit like the Spenser series by Robert Parker though Spenser had a quicker wit about him. The yarn was pretty interesting but evolved into a more complicated and to me less necessary ending. Some decent twist and turns and a few surprises as the story played out.

Kelly is hired online by an anonymous client to find a missing Illinois governor who escaped jail and from pursuers after he absconded with some millions of dollars.

Kelly focuses on the Governor's Wife who has some explaining to do of her own... ( )

Description
It’s been two years since disgraced Illinois governor Ray Perry disappeared from a federal courthouse in Chicago moments after being sentenced to thirty-seven years in prison on corruption charges. P.I. Michael Kelly is sitting in his office when he gets an anonymous e-mail offering to pay him nearly a quarter of a million dollars if he will find Perry, no questions asked. Kelly’s investigation begins with the woman Ray Perry left behind - his wife, Marie. As he hunts for her husband, Kelly begins to unwind Marie Perry’s past. Everyone in Chicago has secrets, including the governor’s wife. Some of them she shared with her husband. Some of them she kept to herself. And some of them could get Michael Kelly killed.

Kelly is tough with a soft heart, willing to take on the bad guys a bit too recklessly because they’ve wronged somebody who didn’t deserve it. This story wasn’t really my style. Although it did have some action and surprises, it was not really believable and only mildly entertaining. ( )

Good crime novel with some local flavor. Liked it more than I thought I would. ( )