It's all over the news. Big-shot found dead at the local golf course.

Anthony Ortega. a family man living in the nearby town of Gandia, was a local real estate magnate, church leader, and most important church donor. His will leaves much of his estate to the church. As Bishop Mendoza says, more could be up for grabs, depending on who killed him.

Ex-priest turned private investigator, Max Castillo is asked by Bishop Mendoza to investigate.
When Castillo left the priesthood, he agreed to a period of servitude to pay for his seminary education. The Bishop wants someone who understands the church and to investigate for free. Castillo is the perfect solution.

Though I did not really care for the character of Max Castillo I enjoyed the book. ( )

I really enjoyed this one. How can you go wrong with a drinking, gambling ex-priest turned private eye?

The idea of an ex-priest turned detective really intrigued me, but I have to say the voice of Max Castillo's character totally blew me away! It was so strong and so clear, I actually "heard" the Spanish accent when I was reading. Even the syntax fit a native Spanish speaker writing English.

The story itself is a good mystery with interesting characters and locales and I enjoyed being surprised at the end by reveal of the killer.

Although not enough to spoil the read, there were a few typos, missed words and a few punctuation issues (along with a bit of excessive nose pinching, LOL) and the book would probably benefit from another editing/proofreading pass.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series! I also have an overwhelming taste for paella! :) ( )

I really enjoyed this one. How can you go wrong with a drinking, gambling ex-priest turned private eye?

The idea of an ex-priest turned detective really intrigued me, but I have to say the voice of Max Castillo's character totally blew me away! It was so strong and so clear, I actually "heard" the Spanish accent when I was reading. Even the syntax fit a native Spanish speaker writing English.

The story itself is a good mystery with interesting characters and locales and I enjoyed being surprised at the end by reveal of the killer.

Although not enough to spoil the read, there were a few typos, missed words and a few punctuation issues (along with a bit of excessive nose pinching, LOL) and the book would probably benefit from another editing/proofreading pass.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series! I also have an overwhelming taste for paella! :) ( )

This was an OK book. I think maybe men would enjoy it more as the main character is more of a man's man. I am in no way anti religion, but I wasn't interested the religious discussions Max had. On the plus side, I did not guess "who dunnit" at all before it was revealed. I also liked the various characters although possibly none of them were particularly upstanding citizens. ( )

The story of an ex-priest turned detective who is "persuaded" to take on a homicide case in the hopes that it might yield financial benefits for the church.

Former priest Max Castillo lives on a houseboat on the coast of Spain where he lives a care free lifestyle of drinking, gambling and constant debt. After a prominent (and notorious) local businessman -- who was a long time benefactor of the church -- is murdered Max is manipulated into taking the case in the hopes that he can prove the widow guilty and thus eliminate the church's co-benefactor in the estate of the dearly departed.

As the case progresses Max finds that almost everyone who ever came into contact with the deceased hated him enough to kill him, it's just a matter of figuring out who actually had the nerve to go through with it. And then, of course, there is the other matter: Two thugs who are warning him off the case with increasingly convincing threats of bodily harm.

This is a good, basic detective novel. It's not particularly profound or intriguing but it's an enjoyable time waster, sort of the literary equivalent of a sugary snack. It's filling, it's fun, it satisfies the basic cravings but there's not a whole lot of nutritional value to it and a few hours after you've finished you probably won't have any distinct memory of it.

It's not the type of mystery where you get all the clues needed to solve it yourself, some things are held back until the big reveal, and the ending is a little bit muddled and convoluted. It reminded me a great deal of old '70s and '80s TV detective shows like Baretta, The Rockford Files, and Simon & Simon where the fun comes from seeing the well-defined main characters put through their paces more than in the actual story itself.

I liked the character of Max Castillo and I thought he was quite original and interesting. There are one or two sections where he gets introspective about losing his faith and the reasons behind it that are interesting and thoughtful but for the most part it's just a fun vacation type read. Something you can pick up and read for awhile then put down and pick it up again later.

As seems to be the case with many novels these days it could use one more thorough proofread for grammatical errors -- dropped or misplaced cases of "the" "of" "as" etc. -- but it's nowhere near as bad as some I've read and the story is such that you can generally breeze right over them. Although there is some adult language there is no graphic violence or sexual situations.

If you're looking for something fun to read to pass the time then I would recommend it. If you want something deeper than that then this probably isn't the one for you. ( )