Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:   Back in Black

SERIES:  McGinnis Investigations

AUTHOR:  Rhys Ford

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:  240 pages

RELEASE DATE:  Feb 4, 2020

BLURB:

There are eight million stories in the City of Angels but only one man can stumble upon the body of a former client while being chased by a pair of Dobermans and a deranged psycho dressed as a sheep.

That man is Cole McGinnis.

Since his last life-threatening case years ago, McGinnis has married the love of his life, Jae-Min Kim, consulted for the LAPD, and investigated cases as a private detective for hire. Yet nothing could have prepared him for the shocking discovery of a dead, grandmotherly woman at his feet and the cascade of murders that follows, even if he should have been used to it by now.

Now he’s back in the dark world of murder and intrigue where every bullet appears to have his name on it and every answer he digs up seems to only create more questions. Hired by the dead woman’s husband, McGinnis has to figure out who is behind the crime spree. As if the twisted case of a murdered grandmother isn’t complicated enough, Death is knocking on his door, and each time it opens, Death is wearing a new face, leaving McGinnis to wonder who he can actually trust.

REVIEW:

Cole McGinnis is a man that trouble loves to find.  In this rip-roaring start to a new series starring our favorite guys, Cole and his now husband Jae, we once again are in for a roller-coaster of a ride.  The opening of this story was absolutely perfect – an homage to the kick-off of the original series.  And even some familiar characters.  I really don’t want to say much about the plot, because the mystery and the murders should be discovered by the reader.  Suffice to say that when Cole accepts what should have been an easy recon/security job, it ends in him basically tripping over a dead body while being chased by a potential killer.  But then he feels compelled to find out what really happened to the murder victim that he accidentally discovered.  And that task is a whole lot harder than it sounds.  Cole calls on his best friend and former LAPD detective Bobby Dawson who tries to help him piece together what in the heck is going on.  There are clues but they point in all different directions.  It becomes clear that a lot of the people involved have very deep secrets and they sure don’t want Cole to discover what they are or figure out the motive for the murder.  But fear not!  Cole doesn’t back down from a mystery 😉

I am sooooo happy Cole and Jae are back!  Along for the ride are Bobby and Ichi and Rook and Dante (from Ford’s Murder and Mayhem series).  There is even a call out  to one of Ford’s other popular series 😀  Just like we’d expect for a Cole McGinnis story, we begin with a scene that just jumps off the page.  For those long time fans of Rhys Ford’s Cole McGinnis series (affectionately known as the Dirty series), this will come as no surprise and is like visiting an old friend.  With a death wish.  Honestly, poor Cole just cannot buy a break.  One of my favorite things about having Cole back is that we also get to see how Cole’s office manager (and surrogate mother) Claudia is doing these days still trying to keep Cole in line 😉  She of course has her work cut out for her.  Cole’s family has expanded by a niece and it’s endearing to see how he’s taking to being an uncle.  Most importantly we see how his marriage is working.  Marriage is definitely a different thing and this is exemplified particularly well in this story as we see how different couples deal with the stresses of the case.  I also really enjoyed the difference in Cole’s relationship with the police at this point.  It’s a bit less contentious than it was in the previous series and it’s refreshing to see that maybe things are improving at LAPD??  Cole’s relationships with his brothers Ichi and Mike as well as his BFF Bobby have progressed as their lives have changes since the final book in the previous series as well.

Just a note to those who have not read the previous Dirty series – more properly named the Cole McGinnis series.  Certainly this book can be read without reading those stories first, but I wouldn’t really recommend it.  The original series really sets the stage and context for much of the dialogue that occurs in this book.  On it’s own, it’s a really fantastic book that shows the maturity and the growth of the characters into this next phase of their lives and loves, but definitely keeps the adrenaline pumping.  For long time Ford fans, we would expect nothing less.  Brava and well done!  Highly recommended.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon