Joanie McDonell

Nick Sayler is a private investigator who takes on the case of a Jane Doe, a beautiful woman who has lost her memory and is about to be committed to a notorious psychiatric facility. Nick takes her to his home on a barge on the Jersey side of the Hudson River. That night an intruder breaks into the barge and confronts one of the Nick’s closest friends. From there the action builds as Nick, his friends and the police struggle to identify both the woman and her attackers.

I found this to be a well-crafted story with believable characters, including his friends, the savant Albert Meriwether, the wealthy former doctor Edward Sloane, and Nick’s absent girlfriend, Rue, whose promised return keeps him from straying with his beautiful client. Then there are the usual hard-nosed NYPD detectives, Tom Fallon and Linda Goode, who initially try to bring Nick and his client in for questioning but eventually provide cover and assistance.

From my perspective, there were a few minor imperfections, e.g. the British Royal family have corgis not spaniels and “loo” is common in the English speaking world outside North America. Also as the Khyber Pass is between Pakistan and Afghanistan, I find it a little strange that Indians would frequent a restaurant with such a name, especially as the real Khyber Pass restaurant in New York appears to be an Afghan restaurant. I thought it a little unusual to almost completely hide the identity of the perpetrators and their motives until the very end, but this did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. In fact, I was so attracted to this story that I finished this book in 3 sittings. This is a great start to a promising new series and career. I highly recommend this book to lovers of both crime/mystery and thrillers.… (mehr)