Valentine's Day

"Trust me, I'm almost a detective." The ink is barely dry on Richard Valentine’s private investigator’s license before his very first client frames him for a homicide, forcing Rick to accept help from ex-boss and top LA sleuth Dako Farona to get himself out of trouble. Rick has no love for Farona, who paid him only slave wages during three years of legwork, but he gets caught up in one of Dako’s cases after learning it links back to his own father, a police officer killed in the line of duty while Rick was still in kindergarten. When someone sabotages the case by shooting Farona, Rick steps in to take over. With a little help from the women in his life—including his octogenarian landladies, the duplicitous receptionist at Rick’s old job and Dako’s beautiful daughter—the neophyte detective morphs into a semi-seasoned P.I. while unraveling the heartbreaking truth about his father’s murder.

Valentine’s Day (P.I. Mystery)

By April Kelly

Flight Risk Books

ISBN #978-0692477977

Price $12.95

304 Pages

“Filled with drama, humor, and the required bumps on the head.”

Newly licensed private detective, Richard Valentine is happy to be on his own after working for the hugely successful Farona Investigations. But things aren’t panning out, so Valentine goes to his ex boss, Dako Farona to ask for handouts of some clients; instead, he’s asked by Laurel, whom he believes is merely Farona’s secretary, to guard an envelope. But like everything else about this story, Laurel isn’t all that she’s supposed to be, and the envelope he’s holding could well get him killed.

The mystery surrounds the hotly pursued political race for city mayor of L.A., and Valentine fears that Dako (for Dakota) Farona may be blackmailing one of the political opponents.

This is a character driven story with a great plot, and readers will love the characters. The author keeps the story moving at an easy pace, never losing the reader, and keeping them turning the pages. An award winning television writer and creator, the author knows how to set the scenes so each play is clear in the reader’s mind, yet never suspecting the final end. It’s filled with drama, humor, and the required bumps on the head. For a great read, I highly recommend this to mystery lovers.  

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories