I think you'll enjoy Thread of Hope if:- you are 14 or over.
- you're a fan of Philip Marlowe mysteries.
- you like a fast moving page turner.
- you're more into character than sophisticated Police procedure.
- you want a good FREE book!
I found Jeff Shelby on Amazon kind of by chance. I saw one of his covers – the newest one - I forget the name – Thread of Danger, Thread of Innocence. Anyway, I clicked along and found that the first book in the Joe Tyler series, Thread of Hope, was free! So I thought, what the heck? Let's give it a try.
So, Joe Tyler? He's a guy with a past. With a missing daughter and an untidy divorce and a best friend in a coma, and yes it is serious, actually. Anyhow Joe Tyler finds missing kids. That's what he does. But here he is in his old home town trying to clear his friend. Of course things get complicated, and there are romance issues too. Of course there are.
Anyway I got into this pretty quick. I'm a big fan of Chandler so this mystery hit the spot for me. Joe Tyler is tough, but not too tough, smart but not too smart, brave but not gung-ho. Very much in the Marlowe mould. The writing isn't blindingly crafted but it's clear, crisp, functional and effective. It does the job.
Having read the book I had a nose at Shelby's biography. He's a high school English teacher, like me; he writes P.I. Capers, and I'm writing one too. He's also written a YA novel that looks to be on the verge of YA and NA. Like my book. Shelby, though, is unlike me, super prolific. I'd love to know how he does it. Oh yeah, and he's a Jeff too - we're a pair of homophones.
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