The Missing and the Dead by Jack Lynch

Blurb:

Private eye Peter Bragg’s relentless search for a missing insurance investigator unearths shocking secrets involving embezzled money, the disappearance of a cop, art stolen from a San Francisco gallery, and a serial killer obsessed with the expressions on his victim’s faces when they realize they are going to die. Bragg connects the dots, creating a chilling portrait of impending death…and it could be his own.

Review by Rochelle Weber:

I love the Bay Area, and the Golden Gate Bridge on the cover of The Missing and the Dead drew me in. The plot kept me reading.

Janet Lind is the kind of anchor woman who, according to Don Henley, can “tell you about a plane crash with a gleam in her eye.” The only reason Peter Bragg agrees to take her case is that he owes her boss a favor. It seems her brother Jerry, an insurance investigator, has disappeared, and their uncle has died leaving them over a million dollars. If Jerry’s dead and he died before the uncle, Janet gets all of the inheritance. If he died after the uncle, she has to split the money with Jerry’s wife, Marcie, who she clearly thinks is trash. Bragg’s opinion of Marcie Lind is higher than that, and keeps him on the case, which becomes convoluted and dangerous, indeed.

I enjoy Brash Books’ reprints of classic noir novels. It’s fun to read books that take place before people had laptops and cell phones, although some of the action takes place in areas where a person probably couldn’t get a signal anyway. The dialog was natural, the characters very well-drawn, and Mr. Lind did a great job of keeping me guessing who the villain was. I truly had no idea until he revealed the killer. I highly recommend The Missing and the Dead.

Length:  241 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $11.99

Digital:  $2.99

Buy Link:  http://www.brash-books.com/book/the-missing-and-the-dead/

Thanks for visiting. Rose, Julie, Donna, & Rochelle