An homage to the Film Noir Detective Dramas with humor and action!
Author Lucy Score's latest, The Body in the Backyard evokes images and plots of the old detective dramas of the forties and fifties, when Private Eyes ruled the screens and pages. And the likes of Humphry Bogart and Robert Mitchum were grizzled veterans when it came to film noir. If not for the modern setting and language, it would be very easy to see this in a noir setting.
Psychic Riley Thorn and her boyfriend, PI Nick Santiago have been "muscled" into taking a case for her diminutive ex-husband, Griffin Gentry, probably the most disliked man in town. Someone is trying to kill Griffin and "silent" (cough, cough) partner, Mrs. Penny, has roped them into taking the case. Nick is sure it's just Gentry trying to get attention from Riley...that is until a body in Gentry's backyard finally convinces him that maybe someone really is trying to kill the little fart.
The plot twists, the shenanigans, and the hilarious antics of the octogenarian roommates who've managed to take over Nick and Riley's new home kept this story buzzing along. The pacing was great, no moment wasted, no moment glossed over. I kept my nose buried in this book, laughing my ass off. We get to see both families--the Rileys and the Santiagos--and it's a wonder that the happy couple ever get a moment to themselves. But it's the kind of chaos that makes a novel a tight read and a brilliant plot.
I love the eccentricity of Score's characters, each one uniquely nuts and loveable. Well, maybe not Bella Goodshine or Griffin Gentry, but then, even they are richly drawn and real. The plot of this book was inspired by Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man series of books and movies, and if you're remotely familiar with either, you'll know that for the compliment it was meant to be.
I'm very much hoping there will be more in this series, but we'll see if Ms. Score has more planned. In the meantime, she's got so many other series to read and enjoy. And I will be devouring them as well.
A five out of five star, great read by an amazing author.
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