Blurb by Publisher

Full of grit and small town secrets, Tingle's debut is a searing look at the effects of crime for fans of David Joy and Michael Farris Smith.

Davis Reed is plagued by the three "A's": anger, alcohol, and anxiety. A former Charleston police officer, turned private detective, Davis hopes to gain some respect, self and otherwise, by writing a book. His subject: the true story of a B-25 bomber that crashed on Cold Mountain in western North Carolina just after the end of World War II.

From the comfort of a mountain cabin in Cruso, NC Davis spends his days popping anti-anxiety pills, drinking copious amounts of home brewed beer, and not writing a book. But when he discovers a set of keys on a mountain trail, he becomes curious, then obsessed, about finding the rightful owner. With the help of his friend Dale Johnson, a 275 pound local deputy who is full time ornery and part time clever, and Dale's cousin Floppy, a motor mouthed mechanic with a penchant for conspiracy theories and kleptomania, Davis works to uncover the mystery of the keys while navigating a world of small town secrets, shady characters, 80's heavy metal, and murder.

But Davis has his own secrets and even though he's escaped to the mountains some bad business in Charleston is beginning to catch up with him. For an anxiety riddled man looking for peace and quiet Davis somehow stumbles into more chaos and crossfire than any amount of beer and pills can alleviate.

My Review

The book started as a scene in an action-packed thriller movie. Davis, a private detective, is following his BIL on instructions from his sister, who thinks he’s having an affair. But little does Davis know he is running headfirst into a major drug racket. The stunt gets him shot in the leg by a mystery man and forces him to hide in the woods in a secluded cabin. But as destiny would have it, trouble follows Davis into the woods. His detective instincts nudge him to get to the depth of his accidental finding of a bunch of keys by the mountain trail and lead him into three more murders, where he becomes the prime suspect.

A flawed central character, some fun characters that made you laugh, especially Dale and Floppy, and a riveting plot. Although, the in-between pages from going to the woods up to finding the keys dragged quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised when the story picked up speed later, and I was hooked like a fish.

The story involved a realistic portrayal of Davis’s constant guessing games and theories as to what might have happened leading to the mysterious circumstances. Don’t we all do that? Try to guess what might have happened, putting our detective powers to use. I loved this bit in the story.

Final Verdict

Quite an engaging read, wouldn’t say it fits the bookish definition of a cozy mystery but, it comes very close, with the small town, intimate community setting, and the amateurish detective in tow.

Who Should Read This

I definitely recommend this book to mystery lovers. 4 stars out of five.

Thank you, Netgalley and the author, for the book.

Happy Reading!