Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Woman Sleuth/Mystery
Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Texan LB
Clark likes to combine her love of writing with her love of music. We
previously reviewed a short story anthology, Music Speaks, that she compiled and edited along with being one of
the contributors. Her now completed Jukebox Heroes series has characters with
musical ties and are hard to pin down as far as genre with a touch of
contemporary fantasy and a little mystery as my best shot at describing
them. This book is the first of her
“Hollywood Knight” series, which takes characters from the Jukebox Heroes
series in a different direction. They have some magical powers (the
contemporary fantasy part of the previous series), but the focus is more on the
mystery with those elements taking a back seat.
Description:
“After the
loss of her friend and former lover, Jenny Marshall decides to trade her old
life in northern Florida for a new one on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Even
though she's been in L.A. for a few months, she's still adjusting to the city
and her new cadre of misfit friends, including her new roommate, Seth Webber,
who happens to be not only her high school crush but also the front man for
Tangled Web, one of the hottest rock bands on the planet.
On top of
everything else, Jenny lands her first case as a licensed California detective
before she even has a chance to unpack. A twenty-year veteran of the world of
private investigations, Jenny is good at what she does--maybe even one of the
best. Still, the missing persons case she finds herself embroiled in presents
some unique challenges...and eventually leads her down a path she'd once sworn
to herself she'd never follow.”
Appraisal:
What I
liked most about Smoke and Mirrors
falls into three main categories.
First, is
the obvious genre assignment. My reading diet has always leaned heavily toward
suspense, thriller, and mystery, and the private investigator story is a
popular mystery subgenre. Whatever appeals to me in mysteries (primarily trying
to figure out how the clues fit together) was here and well done.
Second, is the
characters. I found it easy to get invested in what happened to them. (That
some of them are musicians and that I’m a sucker for books that involve anyone
in the music business was a bonus.)
Third, is
the cross genre aspect. This book (the first in a new series) is using
characters from Clark’s Jukebox Heroes series, which is contemporary fantasy.
Some of them have magical powers which don’t figure heavily in the story here,
but come into play just enough to spice things up, taking this beyond “just a
mystery.” It’s a combination I like.
FYI:
Some adult
language.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues
Rating: **** Four stars
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