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The Boys Are Back in Town: A Brody James Mystery
Riggs & Murtaugh. Starsky & Hutch. Brody James & Bullock.
“He smoked that pretty good,” Bullock said as he looked down the ravine at where the car landed. “Autopsy said he didn’t have a heart attack or anything, so the impact must have killed him. Hell of a way to go.”
“Every way is a hell of a way to go,” I said as I knelt closer to the road looking in both directions.
My name is Brody James. After 15 years I've returned to the hometown I swore I'd never return to.
This is my first case since coming back, and one thing I'm sure of is that Gary Hutchins didn't kill himself.
My partner Bullock isn't so sure. He's young, he's passionate, can be annoying as hell sometimes, but he's a good cop. I like him.
With Gary's death one month after Rebekah Wertheimer overdosed, I know there's a connection.
Bullock thinks I might be too personally involved in the case since I went to school with both victims. To be honest, I didn't really like either of them or their friend Joseph Agam.
I'm willing to bet he's in danger too. Bullock is willing to bet that I'm trying to solve these cases to impress Chloe Brown, who smells of lilacs and roast beef.
I have to remember that Bullock is young, he's passionate, can be annoying as hell, and sometimes, I just want to punch him in the face.
“He smoked that pretty good,” Bullock said as he looked down the ravine at where the car landed. “Autopsy said he didn’t have a heart attack or anything, so the impact must have killed him. Hell of a way to go.”
“Every way is a hell of a way to go,” I said as I knelt closer to the road looking in both directions.
My name is Brody James. After 15 years I've returned to the hometown I swore I'd never return to.
This is my first case since coming back, and one thing I'm sure of is that Gary Hutchins didn't kill himself.
My partner Bullock isn't so sure. He's young, he's passionate, can be annoying as hell sometimes, but he's a good cop. I like him.
With Gary's death one month after Rebekah Wertheimer overdosed, I know there's a connection.
Bullock thinks I might be too personally involved in the case since I went to school with both victims. To be honest, I didn't really like either of them or their friend Joseph Agam.
I'm willing to bet he's in danger too. Bullock is willing to bet that I'm trying to solve these cases to impress Chloe Brown, who smells of lilacs and roast beef.
I have to remember that Bullock is young, he's passionate, can be annoying as hell, and sometimes, I just want to punch him in the face.
- GenresMystery
318 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 28, 2023
16 people are currently reading
2818 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 23, 2024
Ok, I must confess, I mostly picked this one because of its title. I’m going to date myself with this statement, but can’t you just hear that old Thin Lizzy song (or the Bon Jovi version for you slightly younger folks) now? Cmon, I know some of you are doing your best karaoke version of it right now. Oh well, I digress. Anyway, an A+ to Karl Kling for a catchy title to this mediocre murder mystery. It got my attention! The book summary compares Brody & Bullock to Riggs & Murtaugh and Starsky & Hutch. Personally, I think Shaggy & Scooby Do would be more accurate.
The book summary basically just introduces the main characters and not very well at that. Brody, a former Navy cop or officially, Master’s at Arms, came back to his small, MI hometown after 15yrs. No reason why, he just didn’t have anywhere else to go. It’s not like he still has family there or anything or at least none that has been revealed so far. He takes a job at the local police station and is partnered up with Bullock, an obnoxious rookie, who is absolutely obsessed with food and when and where his next meal is coming from. I even wanted to punch Bullock in the face sometimes; he’s really annoying. There’s also Chloe, who Brody remembers from high school and who now manages the local diner that her father owns.
So, two other people, Rebekah and Gary, from Brody’s high school class die within a few weeks of each other; one from an overdose and the other in a freak accident (supposedly), that the Chief of Police wants to rule as a suicide. Brody remembers them from high school as being bullies and punks along with their friend Joseph. The three of them used to gang up on this one kid named Jared, who has, subsequently, had a pretty rough life since then, according to Jared’s younger brother, Julian. Julian now owns and runs the family hardware store.
Chloe, who was friends with Rebekah, is adamant that Rebekah was clean and that the overdose is suspicious. After checking out the scene of Gary’s freak accident, Brody is suspicious of Gary’s death being an accident or a suicide. Brody zeros in on Jared, while Bullock suspects that Brody is making much ado about nothing just to impress Chloe. Brody has become absolutely smitten with Chloe, which kind of becomes a secondary storyline. None of this is a spoiler since it all happens pretty early in the story.
It's well into the second half that another dead body shows up that the investigation takes some positive turns. However, the end is a bit of mess. I wouldn’t call is a hot messy but just rather clunky and disorganized with a bunch of one paragraph epilogues for a bunch of characters. The final few pages become a lead in to a possible sequel.
The characterization was ok for the MC’s, but pretty thin for everyone else. One character that I would have loved to see and hear more from was Brody’s neighbor, Betsy. As far as I’m concerned (and this is my review), Betsy was the most interesting character in the book. The pacing and storyline were ok, but the writing style was another plus for Kling. The banter between the characters, especially Brody and Bullock, was playful, teasing, humorous and entertaining. Found myself, quite often, laughing at the antics and chemistry between the characters. Even Chloe and the Chief had a good sense of humor. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.4, so I’m going to round down to a 3star rating. I want to thank NetGalley and Three Dorks Publishing for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #ThreeDorksPublishing #TheBoysareBackinTown
The book summary basically just introduces the main characters and not very well at that. Brody, a former Navy cop or officially, Master’s at Arms, came back to his small, MI hometown after 15yrs. No reason why, he just didn’t have anywhere else to go. It’s not like he still has family there or anything or at least none that has been revealed so far. He takes a job at the local police station and is partnered up with Bullock, an obnoxious rookie, who is absolutely obsessed with food and when and where his next meal is coming from. I even wanted to punch Bullock in the face sometimes; he’s really annoying. There’s also Chloe, who Brody remembers from high school and who now manages the local diner that her father owns.
So, two other people, Rebekah and Gary, from Brody’s high school class die within a few weeks of each other; one from an overdose and the other in a freak accident (supposedly), that the Chief of Police wants to rule as a suicide. Brody remembers them from high school as being bullies and punks along with their friend Joseph. The three of them used to gang up on this one kid named Jared, who has, subsequently, had a pretty rough life since then, according to Jared’s younger brother, Julian. Julian now owns and runs the family hardware store.
Chloe, who was friends with Rebekah, is adamant that Rebekah was clean and that the overdose is suspicious. After checking out the scene of Gary’s freak accident, Brody is suspicious of Gary’s death being an accident or a suicide. Brody zeros in on Jared, while Bullock suspects that Brody is making much ado about nothing just to impress Chloe. Brody has become absolutely smitten with Chloe, which kind of becomes a secondary storyline. None of this is a spoiler since it all happens pretty early in the story.
It's well into the second half that another dead body shows up that the investigation takes some positive turns. However, the end is a bit of mess. I wouldn’t call is a hot messy but just rather clunky and disorganized with a bunch of one paragraph epilogues for a bunch of characters. The final few pages become a lead in to a possible sequel.
The characterization was ok for the MC’s, but pretty thin for everyone else. One character that I would have loved to see and hear more from was Brody’s neighbor, Betsy. As far as I’m concerned (and this is my review), Betsy was the most interesting character in the book. The pacing and storyline were ok, but the writing style was another plus for Kling. The banter between the characters, especially Brody and Bullock, was playful, teasing, humorous and entertaining. Found myself, quite often, laughing at the antics and chemistry between the characters. Even Chloe and the Chief had a good sense of humor. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.4, so I’m going to round down to a 3star rating. I want to thank NetGalley and Three Dorks Publishing for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #ThreeDorksPublishing #TheBoysareBackinTown
January 3, 2024
A fantastically twisted murder mystery
I loved the characters! They ranged from diabolically evil to charming and driven to right wrongs. Romance hovered on the edges for old acquaintances and long-time spouses let their love for each other show on a daily basis.
The mysteries, several murders as well as stolen lawnmowers, rental disagreements and quirky inhabitants of Michigan made this a very entertaining story.
The dialogue is fast pace, funny and natural.
I recommend this and want to thank Goodreads for selecting me to receive an ARC.
I loved the characters! They ranged from diabolically evil to charming and driven to right wrongs. Romance hovered on the edges for old acquaintances and long-time spouses let their love for each other show on a daily basis.
The mysteries, several murders as well as stolen lawnmowers, rental disagreements and quirky inhabitants of Michigan made this a very entertaining story.
The dialogue is fast pace, funny and natural.
I recommend this and want to thank Goodreads for selecting me to receive an ARC.
February 28, 2024
A fun read with entertaining banter between Brody and Bullock. Looking forward to more from these characters!
January 31, 2024
Easy read with a good twist
Pretty easy read and I think the myster was well put together. Solid close as well. Some of the relationships could have been built more or had less jumping between steps.
Pretty easy read and I think the myster was well put together. Solid close as well. Some of the relationships could have been built more or had less jumping between steps.
December 13, 2023
This book gives hard boiled noir vibes and the characters jump right off the pages into your head. The author has the kind of writing style I like - a touch of humour and plenty of quirky descriptors. The plot itself is a fast and fun ride with a satisfying conclusion.
January 2, 2024
I enjoyed the story and the humor. It was a fun interesting read.
February 6, 2024
Brody James Mystery Book Review
Brody James returns to his home town after many years as a police officer. He has an obnoxious younger partner that I found useless and irritating. He is checking out what appears to be an accident when a friend suggests that it might not be. The friend, Chloe, then mentions that another person they knew from high school had overdosed and Brody thinks the two deaths might be related. He then goes on a mission to find the killer. He becomes convinced he knows who the murderer is but doesn’t have any evidence.
Brody is a very impulsive person who has a tendency to react a bit rashly. Not good characters for a cop. His police captain tries to steer him I. The right direction. He really wants to help people but can be a bit narrow focused.
The mystery itself was compelling but not sure I liked the style of writing a lot. Definitely found Brody’s partner really annoying and it detracted from the story for me. Also the structure was a little odd as every once in awhile it seemed that the author just stuck in a descriptive paragraph or two that seemed unnecessary. The story was set in a smaller town near Detroit and there were the usual comparisons between the big city and small town life. Did like the way that the author led the reader to find one of the key items that the police had been searching for. He used another crime to help in the discovery. Liked Brody’s late night talks with his neighbor, would have liked to learn a little more about her, felt like it was left hanging a bit.
Received this book from Goodreads Giveaways.
Brody James returns to his home town after many years as a police officer. He has an obnoxious younger partner that I found useless and irritating. He is checking out what appears to be an accident when a friend suggests that it might not be. The friend, Chloe, then mentions that another person they knew from high school had overdosed and Brody thinks the two deaths might be related. He then goes on a mission to find the killer. He becomes convinced he knows who the murderer is but doesn’t have any evidence.
Brody is a very impulsive person who has a tendency to react a bit rashly. Not good characters for a cop. His police captain tries to steer him I. The right direction. He really wants to help people but can be a bit narrow focused.
The mystery itself was compelling but not sure I liked the style of writing a lot. Definitely found Brody’s partner really annoying and it detracted from the story for me. Also the structure was a little odd as every once in awhile it seemed that the author just stuck in a descriptive paragraph or two that seemed unnecessary. The story was set in a smaller town near Detroit and there were the usual comparisons between the big city and small town life. Did like the way that the author led the reader to find one of the key items that the police had been searching for. He used another crime to help in the discovery. Liked Brody’s late night talks with his neighbor, would have liked to learn a little more about her, felt like it was left hanging a bit.
Received this book from Goodreads Giveaways.
December 26, 2023
This debut novel by Karl Kling has some good points and bad points. The general premise of the cop (former Navy officer) moving back to his hometown to be the local plod is, while not original, a solid archetype that offers plenty of promise. The central case is also interesting, if a little underdeveloped from a contextual point of view. The execution of these plot points, however, is somewhat lacking.
I think the biggest issue with the book is that it's not entirely sure what it wants to be - a hard-boiled detective novel or a buddy cop story, the latter of which is more applicable but it's a joke that runs on a little too long at times as well.
As a crime story, it becomes laboured quite a while before we learn the truth which, because there are no real red herrings or twisting subplots is pretty easy to guess.
It's a pity because there was potential here that a good structural editor may have been able to bring out of the text. Writing-wise, Kling uses a lot of good puns and metaphors, but he also mixes his tenses which jars the reader, and there's far too much telling, rather than showing the reader.
About 95% of the book is told in first-person narrative, but doesn't follow all the rules of that particular style. In addition, there are two places when Kling suddenly jumps inside the heads of a couple of other random characters - only one of which is really in any way enlightening, and even that one could have been recounted by Brody. it was more like a TV show structure than a novel, and it didn't work for me.
I do think there was potential here and Kling did a reasonable job of building the environment and the characters - it just didn't all gel together as well as it could have.
Thanks to Three Dorks Publishing for providing this review copy through NetGalley.
I think the biggest issue with the book is that it's not entirely sure what it wants to be - a hard-boiled detective novel or a buddy cop story, the latter of which is more applicable but it's a joke that runs on a little too long at times as well.
As a crime story, it becomes laboured quite a while before we learn the truth which, because there are no real red herrings or twisting subplots is pretty easy to guess.
It's a pity because there was potential here that a good structural editor may have been able to bring out of the text. Writing-wise, Kling uses a lot of good puns and metaphors, but he also mixes his tenses which jars the reader, and there's far too much telling, rather than showing the reader.
About 95% of the book is told in first-person narrative, but doesn't follow all the rules of that particular style. In addition, there are two places when Kling suddenly jumps inside the heads of a couple of other random characters - only one of which is really in any way enlightening, and even that one could have been recounted by Brody. it was more like a TV show structure than a novel, and it didn't work for me.
I do think there was potential here and Kling did a reasonable job of building the environment and the characters - it just didn't all gel together as well as it could have.
Thanks to Three Dorks Publishing for providing this review copy through NetGalley.
January 22, 2024
A entertaining police story with a funny sidekick and interesting characters won this in a Goodreads Giveaway
January 7, 2024
The Boys Are Back In Town is a murder mystery set in Michigan.
Brody James has come back to his home town to be a policeman after serving in the Navy. A recent death of a High School acquaintance bothers Brody, especially when he learns of another death which may or may not be connected.
The investigation leads to a few dead ends and Brody stumbles through some poor investigative work at times. His partner Bullock allows for some good fun teasing and lightens the atmosphere.
This is quite a light story. Brody did make some ‘rookie’ style errors which surprised me as I felt that his background working for the Navy Police didn’t quite support his investigative methods in this new job. There were one or two other areas that another run through editing would probably pick up, but overall it was an okay read.
Brody James has come back to his home town to be a policeman after serving in the Navy. A recent death of a High School acquaintance bothers Brody, especially when he learns of another death which may or may not be connected.
The investigation leads to a few dead ends and Brody stumbles through some poor investigative work at times. His partner Bullock allows for some good fun teasing and lightens the atmosphere.
This is quite a light story. Brody did make some ‘rookie’ style errors which surprised me as I felt that his background working for the Navy Police didn’t quite support his investigative methods in this new job. There were one or two other areas that another run through editing would probably pick up, but overall it was an okay read.
April 14, 2024
Brody James returns to his hometown, after years spent in the military. Intrigued by the recent death of a former classmate, James immediately takes to investigating and learns of other mysterious deaths that must be connected. Will he find the killer before it's too late...or before he's pulled off the case?
While this title reads like a debut novel (with a lot of potential), the characters make it so much fun to read. I was not overly excited to read another novel about someone returning to their hometown to join the local police force, but it being told in first person and full of quirkiness certainly helped things along. I feel like the character development was a little...off. Someone who was an MP would not make the mistakes that James did. Perhaps some additional research could come in handy? I also could have done without the cringeworthy romance addition, though I understand why it was pursued. Regardless, I look forward to reading the next Brody James mystery to see where things go.
Many thanks to the publisher for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
While this title reads like a debut novel (with a lot of potential), the characters make it so much fun to read. I was not overly excited to read another novel about someone returning to their hometown to join the local police force, but it being told in first person and full of quirkiness certainly helped things along. I feel like the character development was a little...off. Someone who was an MP would not make the mistakes that James did. Perhaps some additional research could come in handy? I also could have done without the cringeworthy romance addition, though I understand why it was pursued. Regardless, I look forward to reading the next Brody James mystery to see where things go.
Many thanks to the publisher for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
April 30, 2024
Read his full review post on Rosepoint Publishing.
Brody James is a recent addition in the police force. Bullock is his senior partner and not the least bit shy in management. Three people have died in their town of Stonington and they are tasked with finding the reason.
This tome has brilliant writing at times and I enjoyed the tale. Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole seemed to be the officer’s tactic. Decide who did the crime and then prove it. Occasionally forensics would help but the crime did not always fit their theory with confounding evidence.
I enjoyed the book but found it aggravating to have to untangle some of the words grouped together—a formatting problem. The final conclusion was well thought through and overall the book was entertaining. Otherwise, an additional editor or two would greatly smooth the narrative. 4 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are my own.
Brody James is a recent addition in the police force. Bullock is his senior partner and not the least bit shy in management. Three people have died in their town of Stonington and they are tasked with finding the reason.
This tome has brilliant writing at times and I enjoyed the tale. Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole seemed to be the officer’s tactic. Decide who did the crime and then prove it. Occasionally forensics would help but the crime did not always fit their theory with confounding evidence.
I enjoyed the book but found it aggravating to have to untangle some of the words grouped together—a formatting problem. The final conclusion was well thought through and overall the book was entertaining. Otherwise, an additional editor or two would greatly smooth the narrative. 4 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are my own.
April 20, 2024
Overall a light, easy mystery/ cop story. Brody, the main character, has left the navy and returned to his hometown to join the local police force. I had a little trouble finding Brody a believable character. This made it hard to follow the story line. I think the author got caught up in trying to make the book humorous, and the rest of the story got lost in the execution. Brody and his partner work the case, Brody has a potential love interest and the reader wonders “ who did it” . So for that a success.
December 6, 2023
I would like to thank Netgalley and the author, Three Dork Publishing for a review copy of The Boys Are Back in Town, a stand-alone set in Stonington, Michigan.
Brody James has returned to his hometown to work as a detective in the local police department. He is intrigued by the death of a former classmate, Gary Hutchins, whose car went over a cliff and believes that foul play may be involved. This is compounded when he learns that Gary’s high school friend, Rebecca Wertheimer died the month before. Brody’s partner, Detective Bullock, isn’t so sure.
I liked the premise of The Boys Are Back in Town and it starts promisingly enough, but I soon found it to be less than riveting. I think that maybe I’m not the target audience for the novel, so I found the humour laboured and the plot flimsy.
The novel is told in the first person from Brody James’s point of view and he’s hardly a first class detective with a series of false steps and assumptions. Perhaps his judgement is flawed due to his budding relationship with restaurant owner, Chloe Brown, but mostly, I think, because he’s not overly mature. He and Bullock have some kind of oneupmanship competition going on and it is, on the odd occasion, funny, but mostly it’s just juvenile.
The plot follows a standard format with Brody chasing clues and landing on a suspect through a confluence of circumstantial evidence. Unfortunately finding that suspect is easier said than done. I did, however, like the ending which has some nice touches and the reality of a job part done.
The Boys Are Back in Town is a light read that I think will appeal to those looking for a fun read.
Brody James has returned to his hometown to work as a detective in the local police department. He is intrigued by the death of a former classmate, Gary Hutchins, whose car went over a cliff and believes that foul play may be involved. This is compounded when he learns that Gary’s high school friend, Rebecca Wertheimer died the month before. Brody’s partner, Detective Bullock, isn’t so sure.
I liked the premise of The Boys Are Back in Town and it starts promisingly enough, but I soon found it to be less than riveting. I think that maybe I’m not the target audience for the novel, so I found the humour laboured and the plot flimsy.
The novel is told in the first person from Brody James’s point of view and he’s hardly a first class detective with a series of false steps and assumptions. Perhaps his judgement is flawed due to his budding relationship with restaurant owner, Chloe Brown, but mostly, I think, because he’s not overly mature. He and Bullock have some kind of oneupmanship competition going on and it is, on the odd occasion, funny, but mostly it’s just juvenile.
The plot follows a standard format with Brody chasing clues and landing on a suspect through a confluence of circumstantial evidence. Unfortunately finding that suspect is easier said than done. I did, however, like the ending which has some nice touches and the reality of a job part done.
The Boys Are Back in Town is a light read that I think will appeal to those looking for a fun read.
May 24, 2024
The Boys are Back in Town sees Stonington, Michigan native Brody James return to his hometown after a successful career in the Marines and law enforcement. His first job sees three former classmates all die suspicious deaths, the third of which is a clear murder. Teamed up with a younger partner, Bullock, who seems to gave no filter and fires out every single though that comes into his head (somewhat humorously, sometimes annoyingly), James needs to prove these first two deaths are not accidental and are in fact linked.
This book was a quick and easy read, and I enjoyed it. It does go off on tangents at times, with a few things left unexplained, and I felt there were some plot holes. Perhaps at times, the book tries to be too humorous, but I enjoyed the characters and the story.
Kling keeps things interesting as James seeks a break in the case, something he makes difficult on himself by fixating on one suspect and bending evidence to fit that narrative, as opposed to following the evidence itself. I also enjoyed the small ton cop perspective, as well as Kling sending James and Bullock on "side quests", as most books feature a cop getting all the time in the world to solve one case, as opposed to the reality of multiple ongoing cases, ranging in severity from murder to stolen lawnmowers.
I'd absolutely recommend this book for anyone seeking an easy police procedural read that has plenty of humour, and this was an enjoyable book to read.
This book was a quick and easy read, and I enjoyed it. It does go off on tangents at times, with a few things left unexplained, and I felt there were some plot holes. Perhaps at times, the book tries to be too humorous, but I enjoyed the characters and the story.
Kling keeps things interesting as James seeks a break in the case, something he makes difficult on himself by fixating on one suspect and bending evidence to fit that narrative, as opposed to following the evidence itself. I also enjoyed the small ton cop perspective, as well as Kling sending James and Bullock on "side quests", as most books feature a cop getting all the time in the world to solve one case, as opposed to the reality of multiple ongoing cases, ranging in severity from murder to stolen lawnmowers.
I'd absolutely recommend this book for anyone seeking an easy police procedural read that has plenty of humour, and this was an enjoyable book to read.
June 2, 2024
“The Boys are Back in Town: A Brody James Mystery” introduces Brody James, a retired Navy veteran who has recently returned to his hometown as a local police officer.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The story is told through Brody’s POV and written as a police procedural. The POV provides insight into Brody’s background, character, desires, and motivations. He’s quite a funny character with a lot of sarcasm and self-doubt, which provides a nice background to build off of as the plot unfolds. Find the full blog review at heatherlbarksdale.com
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The story is told through Brody’s POV and written as a police procedural. The POV provides insight into Brody’s background, character, desires, and motivations. He’s quite a funny character with a lot of sarcasm and self-doubt, which provides a nice background to build off of as the plot unfolds. Find the full blog review at heatherlbarksdale.com
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
December 21, 2024
The book synopsis compares them to Starsky and Hutch. I'd say more like Hap and Leonard but I love that team too. THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN may be a debut but it reads as a seasoned author's work. This duo kept me searching to see the same clues as they did all the while knowing that one of them was going to make me laugh before the end of the chapter, usually by the end of the page. They may be hilarious, but they still got the job done. I'm looking forward to our next meeting.
January 21, 2024
The Boys are Back in Town is an easy, entertaining read. The characters’ behavior and conversations made me chuckle at times while wondering if the small town’s big criminal case will actually be solved.
February 10, 2024
Thanks for the free book from a Goodreads giveaway.
The story was easy to read. Brody seemed to be an overzealous cop and his partner got a bit annoying during the story. The plot was interesting.
The story was easy to read. Brody seemed to be an overzealous cop and his partner got a bit annoying during the story. The plot was interesting.
November 21, 2023
Great characters, fantastic dialogue and a fun read.
June 9, 2024
A fun mystery with lots of laughs!
December 29, 2024
I thought it was great! It held attention and the banter was cute and charming between coworkers and friends. I didn’t know the outcome until the very end. Thanks for the opportunity!
March 6, 2025
Pretty darn good!
May 22, 2024
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.
Karl Kling's "The Boys Are Back in Town" marks an intriguing entry into the detective genre with its protagonist, Brody James. After a 15-year absence, Brody returns to his hometown, only to be greeted by a mystery that hits close to home. The death of Gary Hutchins, followed by the overdose of Rebekah Wertheimer, sets the stage for a complex investigation that challenges Brody both professionally and personally.
What Stands Out:
- The partnership between Brody James and his younger counterpart, Bullock, is reminiscent of classic detective duos, adding a layer of nostalgia and camaraderie to the narrative.
- The setting provides a rich backdrop for the story, with the close-knit community dynamics amplifying the suspense.
- Brody's personal ties to the victims add depth to his character and raise the stakes of the investigation.
Points of Contention:
- Readers might find the pacing inconsistent, with certain sections dragging a bit.
- While Brody James is well-developed, some secondary characters could benefit from more depth.
Ultimately, Karl Kling delivers a solid mystery with "The Boys Are Back in Town." It's a story that will resonate with fans of the genre who appreciate a blend of action, suspense, and a touch of humor. The book sets a promising foundation for future Brody James adventures, and I'm eager to see where the series goes from here.
Karl Kling's "The Boys Are Back in Town" marks an intriguing entry into the detective genre with its protagonist, Brody James. After a 15-year absence, Brody returns to his hometown, only to be greeted by a mystery that hits close to home. The death of Gary Hutchins, followed by the overdose of Rebekah Wertheimer, sets the stage for a complex investigation that challenges Brody both professionally and personally.
What Stands Out:
- The partnership between Brody James and his younger counterpart, Bullock, is reminiscent of classic detective duos, adding a layer of nostalgia and camaraderie to the narrative.
- The setting provides a rich backdrop for the story, with the close-knit community dynamics amplifying the suspense.
- Brody's personal ties to the victims add depth to his character and raise the stakes of the investigation.
Points of Contention:
- Readers might find the pacing inconsistent, with certain sections dragging a bit.
- While Brody James is well-developed, some secondary characters could benefit from more depth.
Ultimately, Karl Kling delivers a solid mystery with "The Boys Are Back in Town." It's a story that will resonate with fans of the genre who appreciate a blend of action, suspense, and a touch of humor. The book sets a promising foundation for future Brody James adventures, and I'm eager to see where the series goes from here.
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