Wednesday, January 6, 2021

PI Tales Double Feature: Crimson Smile (Rick Malone) by Michael Pool & The Path of Jackals (Fennec Suleiman) by Hunter Eden


 I am a sucker for novellas, having written quite a few myself. I think it is a great idea to combine two novellas in one book. This way you have the page count and price tag to help the book get noticed on Amazon and still can tell strong, shorter stories. What I like about the novella format is you can get right to the story, keep the action going without boring the reader. 

The first tale is a Rick Malone one by Michael Pool. The fact Michael is a real-life PI gives the story a nice authentic feeling. Malone is hired to prove a wealthy woman killed her husband in self-defense. What follows is an interesting tale with a nice surprise ending. Although Malone's character isn't very unique, the plot and investigation was pretty enjoyable.

The second tale features a very original PI. Not only is the story situated in Egypt, but the protagonist, Fennec Suleiman is one of a kind. He's got some kind of brain damage that causes him to see the form of Anubis. This Egyptian mythological character gives him advice during his investigation of a missing young American girl. The story isn't for the faint of heart and veers a bit into horror territory sometimes. Not surprising as the author, Hunter Eden, has been writing in that genre a lot. It gives a nice dark look at our current Youtuber-culture in a chilling and exciting story. This should win a Shamus Award!

Great, fast-paced reads. Looking forward to more in this format.

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