SCARLET SHADOWS, The Scarlet Mysteries Book 1

SCARLET SHADOWS (The Scarlet Mysteries Book 1)
JO SZEWCZYK
Czykmate Productions (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$5.99 Kindle, available now

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Scarlet Jameson is a taekwondo champion with a badly injured leg, a short fuse, and absolutely no intention of becoming an amateur detective.

Then her friend Michelle is attacked by three masked strangers.

Before her failing sight ended Michelle's career as a pediatrician, Emily had been her first patient. Years later, she became her last. When a desperately needed transplant fell through, Emily died—leaving behind a tragedy Michelle thought she'd buried.

Apparently, someone else is determined to keep the past buried too.

Scarlet, Michelle, and their loyal but unpredictable friend Bean start asking questions. They should have left the past alone. Because the deeper they dig, the more dangerous the answers become—and someone is willing to make sure they never reach the truth.

Fast, dark, and full of wry, quick-witted banter, Scarlet Shadows is a modern Las Vegas crime mystery about buried secrets, the people who'll kill to keep them, and three friends who don't know when to walk away. Perfect for fans of Veronica Mars and Finlay Donovan.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Plots centering the theft of a laptop containing the secrets that no one could possibly not desiire enough to kill for are common as pig tracks. Medical maguffins are very en vogue because, y'all, we live in a time of miracles and should all be bathed in the astonishing accomplishments of scientists, researchers, and technologists.

Ahem.

None of that's in this book, but I'm taking every opportunity I can find or create to remind anyone who sees my words that this is true.

Scarlet, mouthy sarcastic kid she is, annoyed me. So did Bean. Truthfully anyone their age is going to rub me the wrong way. But add in Scarlet's tae kwan do codified violence and I am already late for the door. Michelle's career as a pediatrician is ending, cruelly and uncomfortably for old-man me, as her sight fails. *deep prolonged shudders of horror* Being an actual doctor, therefore , at the youngest, in her later thirties, I could not understand her undifferentiated interests and communication of them from youthful Scarlet's or Bean's. If she'd been sleeping with one or both of them I could see it....

Speaking of seeing things, Jean-Claude Van Damme? While he had an epically muscular butt back in the day, he's my age and his fighting days (supported by the said epically muscular butt) are behind (!) him, so why? Never explained that I noticed.

Snappy wit is hard to pull off. Here it felt more like kids bantering. It was not The Thin Man or Slaughterhouse-Five. If I reach for a comparison to my era of youth-wit writers, I'd say its closest analogue was In Watermelon Sugar by largely and justly forgotten chronicler of the nonce Richard Brautigan.

Astute and observant as I know all my readers are, y'all will have noticed there are three and a half stars up there. The reason is...I like violent, goofy Scarlet. She's bright, she's curious, she's got a definite moral compass; she believes in taking action against injustice; she does not have any time for fools. My kinda sleuth. Her scoobygroup is probably going to change over time...what're you gonna do with Michelle after this? Or Bean?...but they'll always be quirky and scrupulous which...that's hard to do this well.

Great, no; fun, yes. A pleasantly amusing layover download.