A thoroughly modern version of the hard boiled detective novel– a great read!

Favors and Lies

Mark Gilleo

The Story Plant

Story Plant, The

ISBN: 9781611881455

Description:

Dan Lord is a forty-year-old private detective with a law degree working the blurred line between right and wrong in the Nation’s Capital. As a self-employed solutions broker and legal consultant, he works for a very select clientele. He doesn’t advertise and only takes cases on referral. But when two people close to him are murdered, Dan’s work becomes very personal.

With the assistance of a newly hired female intern, extracting clues from a ladder of acquaintances, Dan bounds through both the underbelly and elite of society, each step bringing more questions and yet ultimately taking him closer to the answer he seeks. A bail bondsman, a recluse hacker, a court clerk, a university student, an old-school barber, a high-class madam, an intelligence officer, a medical doctor, and a police detective are among the list of people Dan must cajole for help. His quest will lead him to discover things he never wanted to know, and put him in the position to reveal things that important people would prefer remain unrevealed.

Tense, ingenious, and filled with the unforgettable characters that have become a Mark Gilleo trademark, FAVORS AND LIES is the most thrilling novel yet from one of the great new voices in suspense fiction.

My View:

Mark Gilleo has created the perfect modern hard boiled detective in Dan Lord: he is tough, he is cynical, he can fight his way out of almost any situation, and he seeks justice for those deserving and has an ambivalent attitude towards the local police and judiciary. Fortunately Dan Lord doesn’t have a drinking or gambling problem – what a relief to find a hero who isn’t a drunk or an addict or one who is weighed down by past misdemeanours and relationships; this is a hero who can hold a conversation, who seeks to solve crime by following the evidence and by using any and all modern tracking and surveillance methods available to him. Dan Lord is a character who is a smart operator, who has charisma, style and principles that endear him to the reader, what a great character.

I thoroughly enjoyed this modern thriller; it is fast moving, action packed, full of tension and the plot is complex and has a few twists that you will not see coming and the narrative was so engaging it kept me reading into the early hours of the morning until I finished this read. I look forward to reading more of the escapades of Dan Lord.