Review: Outstanding Read and Outstanding Value
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 20, 2012
Excellent read, expecially for .99.John Rockne is a former rookie cop turned private investigator in this well-paced, easy reading crime mystery.  Rockne becomae a P.I. after an incident where his apparent mistake cost someone their life.  Honestly, he's not a very good investigator it seems.  He doesn't carry a gun, is not an internet whiz, has one lone contact (his sister) who is chief of police and relies on a reporter to dig up addresses and phone numbers for him.  This costs him lots of lunches and dinners, apparently.  He's also a terrible fighter.  He always makes it home for dinner, where his wife kindly puts him in his place.  I felt sorry for the guy.So, when a former well-known musician engages him to find out who murdered his guitar-making daughter, the real story begins. Rockne stumbles through the various clues in an engaging and entertaining fashion.  The story takes place on Lake St. Clair, which is refreshing, as its not a major city or other locale -- makes for some good descriptive narrative there.  The dialogue is decent and the observations are sometimes clever and interesting.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.  The mystery is resolved and the plot is tied up in a nice, neat fashion, leaving the reader with a good feeling.  There was even a hint of a sequel for him...but I would suggest he take a few courses or read up on investigative techniques first!! The four stars is based on the fact I thought it was better than average but not quite five star material -- it's a solid good read and, at .99, it's a fantastic value.