It's all about truth and a dead Joe X.

Since leaving the IRS to become a private investigator, Mort Angel has found himself not just a finder of dead bodies but also a person of interest for some stunningly beautiful women. He doesn't mind, of course, but he does find it surprising. Like the gorgeous woman who says she wants to hire his services, but for what he's not sure. And the very youthful looking, possibly teenage, ex waitress who claims she's over thirty, and seems determined to stick with him as he tries to investigate. And this time it's getting more personal as he tries looks for the killer of a multi millionaire rapper.

Told in the first person by Mort Angel himself, he text is full of self depreciating comments and the aches of someone no longer in their prime. The smooth talking, fast action, sarcastic investigator he is not. But then, neither is he the bumbling fool: he misses clues, perhaps, but mostly, and doggedly, gets there in the end even if there does seem to be a slight detours along the way. A nice man, he tries to get along in as peaceful a way as he can. He is admirably portrayed by narrator, George Kuch, who's delivery not only enhances the reader's enjoyment of his personality but also gives individual voice and character to the other protagonists in the story. An exce!!ent performance.

I liked the relaxed, almost passive attitude of the detectivs, Angel, even if his obsession with women's breasts did seem a near constant. A man in his forties, a litt!e bit lonely, and not from the era of swinging sexual librration. A prude? No. Easily embarassed? Yes. So not a James Bond type then. Even his use of the tit!e 'Gumshoe' suggests a personality which is a tad retrospective.
Easily a stand alone story. I had not read either of the earlier books in the series but am now tempted to do so. Recommended for anyone looking for an engaging and light private eye mystery with well developed characters and gentle humour.
I downloaded Gumshoe on the Loose for free from F.A.B.C. My thanks to the rights holder who made this possible.

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