Kayla’s Mystery Monday #4: THIN AIR

Summary

Private Investigator Jessica Shaw is an expert at finding lost people. Then one day she gets an anonymous email featuring a photo of a three-year-old kidnapping victim from 25 years ago. For this special case, however, Jessica doesn’t need to find the girl in the photo because the girl in the photo is her.

Though still reeling from this information, Jessica takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of her kidnapping as well as her mother’s (Eleanor) murder, unearthing all of the dark secrets she didn’t know she had.

My Response

First of all, did you read that summary? A P.I. who’s an expert at finding people discovers she’s been missing for 25 years! That is a brilliant concept, and for that reason alone I couldn’t pass up this mystery. Honestly, I have no regrets.

I only had one issue with this novel, so I’ll keep the griping short. First of all, there is a character named Chuck who shows up to give Jessica some information on Eleanor’s death, and the man talks like a pulp fiction novel. Here’s a line of dialogue:

“The reason I remember I was whistling is because suddenly the tune seemed too loud in the still surroundings. the song died on my lips but seemed to linger in the air for a few seconds before being swept away by the breeze.”

It’s great prose for a narrative, but who actually talks like that? I really threw me out of the story, so much so that I had to mention it even though old Chuck isn’t that important of a character–he’s only in one chapter.

Now, for everything I liked about this novel! First of all, Jessica Shaw kicks butt, and no matter how bad things get, she’s got the grit to handle it.

Even still, Jason Pryce might have been my favorite my favorite character. Pryce is an old school detective who’s loyalty to his friend pulls him right into the darkness that is Jessica Shaw’s life, and even though he doesn’t hold the secret to her shady past, he does his best to help her. This is the first book in a series, so the relationship between Pryce and Jessica is just beginning to develop here, but it makes me eager for the next novel.

If you like fast-paced, thrilling action stories with one heck of a dramatic climax, you will love Thin Air! Make sure to check it out soon!