Peerless Detective (Book) Review
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Billy Fox isn’t looking for trouble…but it finds him anyway in Peerless Detective. As Peerless Detective begins, we meet young Billy Fox. It’s the ‘70s, a far different time, but certainly not a simple time. After five years in the military, Billy has come home to find that…well, you really can’t come home. Though everything […]
Billy Fox isn’t looking for trouble…but it finds him anyway in Peerless Detective.
As Peerless Detective begins, we meet young Billy Fox. It’s the ‘70s, a far different time, but certainly not a simple time. After five years in the military, Billy has come home to find that…well, you really can’t come home. Though everything has changed, Billy is hoping that he can rekindle a romance from the past, even if the object of that romance is now on the run from an abusive husband. As Billy follows his lost love, Rita, to Chicago, he soon finds that the big city can be a tough place for a guy on his own. Though he has a little money to get by on, an some skills that help him land a series of day jobs, this certainly isn’t turning out to be the life he thought he’d be living.
As he is out searching the streets for Rita, Billy meets an unusual man who managed to turn his life around. Harry Strummer is your stereotypical retro private detective. He’s street smart, quirky, tough as nails, and smart as a tack. Along with a snarky office manager and a seasoned former police officer, Harry runs the Peerless Detective Agency. Finding runaways, chasing after cheating spouses, and street chases are all a part of daily life for Harry, and he’s taken Billy Fox under his wing as the newest employee at Peerless Detective.
As Billy settles into the job he never thought he’d take on, he soon finds himself getting lost in the work. Whether it’s learning how to tail a suspect, to finding the right way to approach a dangerous situation, Billy is learning all the ropes – and he is surprised to find that he really likes. Although he can sense that Harry is hiding some bigger problem that Billy can’t quite figure out, he soon settles in to a real kind of life, including nicer digs, steady work, and an unexpected love interest. Though he still searches almost daily for his lost love Rita, Billy fins himself drawn to a savvy waitress named Millie just the same. Figuring out what he’s supposed to do, and who he should be with, is a frequent inner struggle.
Peerless Detective is a great noir fiction novel with a sunny core. Though Billy – and Harry – often face tough situations, there is an underlying thread of redemption and goodheartedness to it all that keeps it from being too dark. Billy is believable character, and you want to like him right from the start. And Harry – well, you can’t help but like Harry. He’s just the coolest sort of guy. For detective mystery fans, you’ll find an interesting story that grips you almost form the start in Peerless Detective.