Back In Black McGinnis Investigations Book 1
MM Mystery Suspense
Dreamspinner Press
February 4, 2020
200
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.
She Said – Gloria Lakritz He Said – Ulysses Dietz She Said, Melissa Brus
She Said- Gloria Lakritz, Review Chair, PRG Review Team
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.
OMG, when was it that I met Cole Kenjiro McGinnis? Was it that long ago; July 2011? Seems like yesterday that I first read Book #1 in the Cole McGinnis Mystery Series, Dirty Kiss.
Meeting that beat up warrior, ex cop and new PI, was a new series from a new to me author Rhys Ford . I went for the six book series ride from Ms. Ford and never looked back! The series gave us a wonderfully strong ensemble, and now Rhys Ford has graced us with McGinnis Investigations Book #1 Back in Black…….
Welcome Home ….THE BOYS ARE BACK !
We now catch up to the lives of the people we have grown to love…… Since the last book, Cole is married to the love of his life, Jae-Min Kim….Yay!. He is a consultant for the LAPD, and he still has his PI License for cases as a private detective for hire.
Rhys is her best describing murder and mayhem and there is plenty in it here..Jae-Min just needs him to stay safe and come home in one piece…….Cole does have a problem with that……Bobby and Ichero are a big part too…Come back and love BACK IN BLACK!!!
He Said-Ulysses Dietz, Member of the PRG Review Team
Years have passed, and while this new Cole McGinnis series seems to segue smoothly out of the last one, there is a shift in focus. The half-Japanese Cole is now married to his beloved Jae-Min Kim and has managed to get some steady work as a consultant for the LAPD, helping out Lieutenant Dell O’Byrne – who actually likes him.
Other than this, Rhys Ford seems to have returned with her expected atmosphere of mayhem fully intact, redirecting her interest in Cole’s love-life to his desire to stay alive in the face of too many people shooting at him. Of course, old ghosts reappear, and much of the internal conversation Cole has involves the past; only now it’s all in the context of how great his life is and how lucky he is to have not just his two crazy brothers, Mike and Ichiro, but also his extended chosen family. That includes the formidable Claudia Dubois, his receptionist, and his best-friend-cum-brother-in-law Bobby Dawson. These people, just as richly detailed and vibrant as Cole himself, are the central posse in this (and, presumably, any future) narrative.
Los Angeles itself is laid out for us as the gorgeous, maddening, confusing, alluring city that Cole loves and hates. Kudos to Rhys Ford for allowing readers unfamiliar with the City of Angels a realistic sense of what it’s like to live there and negotiate its complexities. The author’s cinematic descriptions of the urban terrain are wonderful in the way they create a backdrop that amplifies and adds savor to the plot.
As always, with me and Rhys Ford, I find the violence distressing, but I keep going because I adore her characters and know, somehow, that they’ll get through this. As always, there is a lot of philosophizing and emotional pulse-taking about love and loss and pain, along with a great deal of colorful description that might not be strictly necessary. Few contemporary writers bother to take such trouble or give their readers so much to think about.
I can’t for the life of me figure out where Ford will take this series from here. Wherever she goes, however, I know I’ll be right there.
She Said- Melissa Brus, Member of the PRG Review Team
Cole McGinnis is back! And in true Cole McGinnis fashion, the weird circumstances, dead bodies, and bullets must follow.
Rhys Ford brings us a married Cole and Jae. We get to see Ichi and Mike and the rest of the cast of characters we learned to love in the previous series of mysteries. But now there are old clients showing up in new ways, chases by sheep (yes really), and threats that come to Cole’s doorstep.
This book is a great addition to an amazing and beloved existing series. It will be such fun to see where Cole goes next. Seeing Cole and Jae in this next phase of their lives is, of course, a little different than watching them fall in love. While I love seeing them settled in, I did miss the push and pull of their courtship a bit. Of course there is plenty of relationship issues with all of these strong personalities running around.
The suspense and action is so well paced (some of us may have had to finish this book in one sitting). Rhys Ford successfully delves back in and delivers to fans a great new adventure for our beloved Cole and Jae.
