Measured Deception: A Nick Blaine Mystery

by Richard E. Kalk, T. Ann Pryor

From the real life experiences of an award winning LAPD detective comes the riveting novel Measured Deception.

Justice doesn't always come to those who seek it. Sometimes, in this world, justice is denied...

After twenty soul bending years as a detective with the LAPD, Sergeant Nick Blaine thought he knew evil. That was until he came across the murder of Ainsley Brown, a charismatic young gay man trying to live unapologetically in 1980s Los Angeles. Popular on the social scene, Ainsley was beloved by all but one man. The man who loved him so much he would rather see Ainsley dead than with another. Yet, the murders don't stop with Ainsley Brown. Before he's able to catch his killer, Nick Blaine will find himself taken from the streets of L.A. to the bayou of Louisiana and back again, all while hot on the heels of a killer.

Having suffered heart-breaking loss, Blaine must not only solve the case, he must also figure out a way to find comfort and solace in a world determined to let his demon chase him. With every step Blaine and his faithful partner in crime, Detective Phillips, find themselves falling deeper into a cesspool of murder, drugs, and sex. Will they be able to stay afloat?

Retired LAPD detective Richard E. Kalk is a jack-of-all-trades. After a long and storied career in law enforcement he went on to found the LAPD Historical Museum in Los Angeles. He has also co-starred in a number of Hollywood blockbusters including the award winning The Onion Field with Ted Danson and James Woods and The New Centurions with legend George C. Scott and Stacy Keach.

T. Ann Pryor is an award winning writer and author of the popular essay All I Need to Know I Learned from the Golden Girls available on Amazon and other places you buy books.

184 pages, Paperback

Published March 17, 2025

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book for Rosie’s Review Team.

This is a story set in the 1980s mostly in Los Angeles. The two main protagonists are LAPD Detective Nick Blaine and his partner, Phillips.

Faced with solving the crime of the murder of a young man who seemed to be loved by everyone, they’re led on a quest through the gay community of Los Angeles looking for any possible motive. Blaine pretty quickly settles on a suspect or two, but kept an open mind for a while.

Blaine eventually enters into quite a cat and mouse game with the suspect he eventually settles on. The case takes him and his partner from Los Angeles to Chicago and even to Louisiana and Mississippi.

The story was interesting and held my attention. A couple of misused words threw me out of the story a few times, such as throws for throes and taught for taut.

Other than these small nits to pick, the story held up well and I liked the tenacity of the detectives in not letting the case grow cold as it so easily could have. They persevered and worked to find proof that their suspect was the right one.

It seems this will be a series (or it may already have earlier books) and I’m sure I’ll pick up the next one as well. An enjoyable, easy read.

Four stars

[Tracy Ehrig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprising twists and turns.

LAPD Detectives hustle to unravel the shocking plans of a criminal who charms his unwitting victims and the FBI in this well told story of complex insurance fraud and murder.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Measured Deception is a crime novel set in Los Angeles in 1984, featuring veteran detective Nick Blaine and his partner John Phillips. They are investigating the suspicious death of Ainsley Brown, a young gay man. The prime suspect is Rodney Williams, who claims to be Ainsley’s godfather and has been supporting him financially. Blaine and Phillips are convinced he is behind it all, but don’t have enough evidence, when they get a lucky break.
Forty years ago, detective work was very different. This was before the internet, there were no mobile phones, and forensic science was much less sophisticated. Old-fashioned detective work, trusting your gut instinct, and dogged perseverance were the order of the day. In the end, it was about greed as life insurance fraud was at the root of it all.
The characters are well drawn and believable, the setting vividly evoked, and humorous dialogue takes the edge off the violence. We are given just enough background about the lives of the detectives outside of work to make them real, but not so much that it gets in the way of the investigation.
I found this story gripping and could not put it down once I started reading. I understand that this is the first book in a new series featuring detectives Blaine and Phillips, and I look forward to reading the next one when it comes out. I chose to read Measured Deception as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“‘Do you know anything about what we’ve got?’…’One dead and one injured.’ ‘Anyone we know?’…’I hope not.’”

Measured Deception is a crime novel that is based on real-life experiences from author Richard E. Kalk’s decades with the LAPD.

This character driven mystery read like an old cop movie or a very old episode of Law & Order. The language was so very authentic to the 1980’s and I loved that! It put me right there as these detectives desperately tried to solve Ainsley Brown’s murder.

The story was a sad one that hits you in the heartstrings, the detective work authentic, and the outcome very satisfying. If you enjoy character driven murder mysteries then add this to your tbr today!

Thank you to Meryl Moss Media and BookTrib for the copy.

[Charisse Vizcarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good police-procedural read! It reminded me of the show L.A. Law. The dynamic between Detective Blaine and Detective Phillips was hard to decipher at first. But then again, I’m the audience, outside-looking-in, on how the partnership worked. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I needed to know everything. I would have loved to get to know the detectives better, and a little bit more. I wish this story was slightly longer.

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. A great investigation and I was intrigued from beginning to end. I like that it was based on true events.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, traditional-style police procedural to kick off this new mystery series.

Measured Deception is the first book in the Nick Blaine Mystery series by the writing team of Richard E. Kalk and T.A. Pryor, and it is a very good new police procedural-style murder mystery investigation set in 1984 Los Angeles. Sergeant Detective Nick Blaine and his partner, Detective John Phillips, investigate the shooting death of Ainsley Brown, a young gay man, which occurred as he and his roommate parked their car in front of their apartment building. While there were several people on the scene, no one, including the surviving roommate, could give the detectives definitive details of what happened or where or how the murderer fled. However, many of the young man’s friends and family members implicated Ainsley’s self-proclaimed godfather, Rodney Williams, the man who was paying Ainsley’s way through beauty school, as his killer. The accusations and conflicting reports of Rodney’s relationship with Ainsley and the discovery that he is the beneficiary of multiple life insurance policies taken out on the young man’s life raise the detectives’ suspicions, as does his long history of contacts with local law enforcement. But without a shred of concrete evidence that Rodney is behind the murder, all they can do is continue to search for clues.

Sergeant Detective Nick Blaine is an interesting character who is totally focused on his cases but willing to discuss his illustrious career with a reporter who needs a human-interest story. Having lost his wife and only child in a traffic accident a couple of years earlier, he’s at the age where he should be winding down. However, his gut is telling him something is off with this case, and he’s not ready to hang up his shield.

Detective John Phillips is Blaine’s able and capable partner with his own family drama. Estranged from his much-loved and looked-up-to older brother, Stephen, the investigation into the Ainsley Brown murder exposes his parents’ struggles with their eldest son’s sexual orientation and lifestyle choices.

The plot follows the traditional path of an old-school police procedural, with the detectives working every angle in person out in the community. It was an interesting realization that while 1984 doesn’t seem that long ago, it’s actually 40 years, and a lot of technological advances in everyday life have been made, let alone law enforcement, that we take for granted today: no cellphones, no personal computers even. If you wanted to talk to a suspect, you had to catch them at their house or workplace, even for a phone call. Answering machines weren’t even that common. However, dogged persistence and attention to every clue finally pay off for the two detectives, but the resolution doesn’t happen before additional tragedy strikes.

With an interesting and intrepid pair of detectives, reminiscent of Sergeant Joe Friday and Detective Bill Gannon of Dragnet fame, and an engaging style of storytelling, I recommend MEASURED DECEPTION to mystery readers, especially those who enjoy the police procedural sub-genre.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.