nahyee's review
3.0
Good detective story with one flaw
I liked the characters in this, enjoyed the story, and it was a nice quick read. What I got hung up on was the picture of Garrison Gage that I couldn't get out of my imagination. When we first meet him, Garrison is wearing a fedora (a little stereotypical for a private investigator) and walking with a cane. You find out he's a recluse, no longer working, doesn't really use technology of any kind and spends his days doing crossword puzzles. I pictured him in his 60s, and got a little creeped out when he found the local reporter attractive and described her as probably in her 30s but looking younger and having aged well. I thought I had missed something when I started getting hints that he was probably younger, and about 40% of he way in, he mentions being in his 40s. But by then, I couldn't shake the picture of him. It wasn't enough to make me not like the story, but I had to continually remind myself that the lead character is young and just has a bum knee. Worth the read...just know going in that Garrison is only in his 40s.
I liked the characters in this, enjoyed the story, and it was a nice quick read. What I got hung up on was the picture of Garrison Gage that I couldn't get out of my imagination. When we first meet him, Garrison is wearing a fedora (a little stereotypical for a private investigator) and walking with a cane. You find out he's a recluse, no longer working, doesn't really use technology of any kind and spends his days doing crossword puzzles. I pictured him in his 60s, and got a little creeped out when he found the local reporter attractive and described her as probably in her 30s but looking younger and having aged well. I thought I had missed something when I started getting hints that he was probably younger, and about 40% of he way in, he mentions being in his 40s. But by then, I couldn't shake the picture of him. It wasn't enough to make me not like the story, but I had to continually remind myself that the lead character is young and just has a bum knee. Worth the read...just know going in that Garrison is only in his 40s.
johnnyb1954's review
2.0
Gage finds a young woman dead on the beach and begins to investigate. When he’s about to give up, someone leaves him a message saying “THER AR OTHR GRLS”. A couple pages later the message is changed to “He has other girls”. I thought of stopping right there. I also thought of stopping when the “blonde bombshell” young reporter falls for this crusty old guy just because that’s the story the author fantasized. I almost quit when it turns out Gage’s ex-FBI agent buddy has followed him to this tiny town to keep an eye on him and conveniently still has connections to get information to move the investigation along. I finally quit when when the reporter, demanding a date with Gage threatened him “if he left now, she'd write a lengthy piece in the Bugle about transsexuals living in seclusion in their hometown and she'd make him the centerpiece.” It is meant to be light humor but it’s offensive. I skipped to the end of the book and was not sorry. I hadn’t missed any great writing.
auntieg0412's review
4.0
Not bad at all for a freebie! Good writing and good characters. I will continue with the other Garrison Gage books.
tunesmithnw's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book even if some parts were fairly predictable. I liked the characters and I especially liked the setting of the Oregon coast. If you want a good mystery that falls somewhere between hard-boiled and a cozy, then this one is for you.
terriblereaper's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
janetval's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
mculpep's review
3.0
While I am attached to the detective in this series, the seeming loss of an editor was too much for me to ignore.
jjtrippy's review
3.0
This book was okay but not necessarily memorable for me.
Gage's back-story wasn't really explained in detail and what was mentioned seemed rushed. There was a lot of "fluff" between the scenes that moved the plot forward which made the story seem to drag a bit.
However, I did enjoy the ending and I loved Gage as a character. I would've loved to see more character development with him though and a bit more of an explanation in some scenes that seemed hastily put together. I did notice a few typos in the book as well but nothing too terrible.
Gage's back-story wasn't really explained in detail and what was mentioned seemed rushed. There was a lot of "fluff" between the scenes that moved the plot forward which made the story seem to drag a bit.
However, I did enjoy the ending and I loved Gage as a character. I would've loved to see more character development with him though and a bit more of an explanation in some scenes that seemed hastily put together. I did notice a few typos in the book as well but nothing too terrible.