KILL ROMEO

4 stars out of 5

There's an old saying that goes, "Man makes plans and God laughs." Nobody knows that better than Freddy Ferguson, a former boxer turned private eye who finds a dead woman in a Virginia woods. But just as he gets hold of her, an incoming storm overwhelms the area, and the swollen river quickly knocks out the dam and sweeps the body downstream and leaves him holding a leather strap holding a tiny numbered key.

Intrigued - and upset that he wasn't able to hold onto her body - he informs the local police and they make an initial investigation that turns up a couple of mysterious and partial handwritten notes in her hotel room. Back home in Washington, D.C., he tries to get back to working on the firm's cases with his partner, Earl Kessler, and employees Bethany, Leon and Claire (each of whom has both endearing and annoying character facets, BTW). In fact, Freddy has a "thing" for Claire, but he realizes that an interoffice romance isn't a good idea - even if he thought Claire would be interested in him (which he doesn't).

Not long thereafter, the dead woman's body washes up in the James River and his intrigue undergoes a revival. Now, he's determined to identify her; so far, the police have no leads. With some help from the other sleuths in the firm, the tiny key gives up its secret, and he traces it to Delray Beach, Florida, and off he goes. There, he gets a couple of surprises, not the least of which is that she has ties to organized crime. Another comes in the form of the woman's father, who is convinced his daughter's most recent boyfriend did her in and hires Freddy to find her unknown "Romeo."

From that point on, the book focuses on Freddy chasing both Romeo and Claire (I'm not sure which "catch" he thinks is more uncertain, but based on the number of pages devoted to the subject, I'm betting on Claire). All in all, it's an enjoyable journey from a reading standpoint. For the record, this is the second in a series, but there's plenty of background "stuff" thrown in and I never felt at a disadvantage for not having read the first one (I did, however, read and highly recommend To Hell with Johnny Manic, another of his books).

The next one in this series, however, I'm looking forward to - and for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley.

Kill Romeo by Andrew Diamond (Stolen Time Press, July 2022); 299 pp.