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Yucky Yates
Yucky Yates is the first book in the Yucky Yates series. Russell 'Yucky' Yates was an agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA. He left the DEA after his wife had an affair with the head of his department. After leaving the DEA he started his own Private Investigation service, Yates Services. Things are about to get crazy. Better grab your copy and check it out.
They got it right when they said, “Faricy’s characters inhabit a world just below the surface of polite society”. Fans of Mike Faricy’s humorous mysteries will welcome the usual constituency of oddball (and sleazeball) characters, who never fail to entertain. Also for fans of Robert B. Parker, Carl Hiaasen, strong Minnesota men and patient women...
They got it right when they said, “Faricy’s characters inhabit a world just below the surface of polite society”. Fans of Mike Faricy’s humorous mysteries will welcome the usual constituency of oddball (and sleazeball) characters, who never fail to entertain. Also for fans of Robert B. Parker, Carl Hiaasen, strong Minnesota men and patient women...
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 8, 2025
240 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Mike Faricy
130 books240 followersI was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, I still live there as well as in Dublin, Ireland. I've been a soldier, freelance journalist, tended bar, sold designer cakes, owned a painting and decorating company along with a number of other schemes and scams. If that doesn't offend you I also play bagpipes with the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band. All my books stand alone, read them in whatever order you wish. They are filled with the sort of oddballs we are all curious about, but wisely, prefer to keep at a distance. None of my characters will be saving the world from terrorism, international banking conspiracies or coups to take over the government. Rather, they inhabit a world just below the surface of polite society, characters with one foot on either side of the law. The circumstances they find themselves in are usually due to bad decisions, but bad decisions lead to interesting stories. They serve not so much as an example but as a warning to us all. Thanks for taking the time, happy reading.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 17, 2025
Yucky Yates will be another winning character in Mike Faricy's long line of winners. How one man possesses all this talent I'll never know but we are the fortunate recipients. Grab a glass of wine or a cup of tea, sit back in your favorite chair, and get lost in this splendidly written novel. Super Good.
Highly Recommended.
Highly Recommended.
July 14, 2025
Ex-DEA agent Russell “Yucky” Yates set himself up with a sweet deal before leaving the agency. He’s now a private investigator at Yates Services, working alongside two seasoned partners—Don Simmons and Clifton Dailey. Sharon McCoy mans the front desk and serves as their office manager.
As a longtime fan of the Dev Haskell series, I looked forward to reading about Yucky’s exploits. Mike Faricy is a master of the one-liner that never gets old. I was surprised to find that Russ Yates is a solid citizen who eats well, doesn’t chase women, and doesn’t overdo the booze. In fact, when he visits the Luxe Lounge several times, he orders a Coke.
Yates’ first client, Celine O’Hara, is an old school chum he’s known since elementary school. She had brains and looks, so he’s puzzled that she ended up working as a dancer (a nice way of saying stripper) at the Luxe Lounge. She married the boss, Mark O’Hara, but they divorced six years ago. It was amicable, and he continued to support her to the tune of four grand a month. Now, she’s concerned—no payments have arrived for the past four months. She’s convinced he’s missing and wants Yucky to find him.
Faricy likes to get as many people as possible in on the action, so the missing ex-husband ends up tied to seemingly unrelated crimes and investigations. Fortunately, Russ Yates enjoys a collegial relationship with the local police, thanks to his friend in Crime Scene Investigation, John Reid. This gives him access to the police network outside of the cities.
Yucky Yates is a perfect beach read. It’s easy to get caught up in the investigative web, and the resolution is satisfying.
I look forward to reading more about Russ—er, Yucky—Yates, and I anticipate he’ll cross paths with his antithesis, Dev Haskell, at some point in the series. Do pay particular attention to the prologue; I suspect the events summarized there will play a part in subsequent books.
As a longtime fan of the Dev Haskell series, I looked forward to reading about Yucky’s exploits. Mike Faricy is a master of the one-liner that never gets old. I was surprised to find that Russ Yates is a solid citizen who eats well, doesn’t chase women, and doesn’t overdo the booze. In fact, when he visits the Luxe Lounge several times, he orders a Coke.
Yates’ first client, Celine O’Hara, is an old school chum he’s known since elementary school. She had brains and looks, so he’s puzzled that she ended up working as a dancer (a nice way of saying stripper) at the Luxe Lounge. She married the boss, Mark O’Hara, but they divorced six years ago. It was amicable, and he continued to support her to the tune of four grand a month. Now, she’s concerned—no payments have arrived for the past four months. She’s convinced he’s missing and wants Yucky to find him.
Faricy likes to get as many people as possible in on the action, so the missing ex-husband ends up tied to seemingly unrelated crimes and investigations. Fortunately, Russ Yates enjoys a collegial relationship with the local police, thanks to his friend in Crime Scene Investigation, John Reid. This gives him access to the police network outside of the cities.
Yucky Yates is a perfect beach read. It’s easy to get caught up in the investigative web, and the resolution is satisfying.
I look forward to reading more about Russ—er, Yucky—Yates, and I anticipate he’ll cross paths with his antithesis, Dev Haskell, at some point in the series. Do pay particular attention to the prologue; I suspect the events summarized there will play a part in subsequent books.
June 19, 2025
Something new from Mike Faricy
If for no other reason than to find out how Yucky Yates got his name, Mike Faricy’s new character is worth the read. He’s a former DEA guy, divorced from a wife who cheated on him with his boss, who works about as much as he wants to and loves his new career.
I enjoyed the tale!
If for no other reason than to find out how Yucky Yates got his name, Mike Faricy’s new character is worth the read. He’s a former DEA guy, divorced from a wife who cheated on him with his boss, who works about as much as he wants to and loves his new career.
I enjoyed the tale!
June 11, 2025
I really like this Yucky Yates character. He is intelligent and can quickly react to any situation. He wants to work with law enforcement and that usually works out well for him.
I'm looking forward to more books featuring Yucky.
I'm looking forward to more books featuring Yucky.
June 13, 2025
Russell “Yucky” Yates (nicknamed by his sisters after an unfortunate poo flinging event as a small child) was an agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, but gave that up after his wife had an affair with his boss. Post divorce, he’s living the bachelor life in St. Paul, working as a private investigator (PI), sharing office space with two other PIs and an office manager who makes a darn good muffin. A childhood friend (who happens to be hot) asks him to help find out what happened to her strip-club-owning ex-husband who seems to have disappeared and stopped paying her voluntary support. Then she disappears, complicating his life. Can he find out who did what to whom and when before a couple of thugs with a semi-automatic weapon send him to the great beyond?
I am a huge fan of this author, and was thrilled to get in on the ground floor of a new series. There’s a clever cross-over opening featuring one of the author’s other PIs, Dev Haskell, which was an extra treat. I’m hoping to see more of that in future books. Yates is an interesting character. He’s by the book, but will throw a punch when necessary and he doesn’t take stupid chances. Not that he doesn’t think about taking them, but some sense of self-preservation keeps him from doing dumb things and that’s a plus in PI novels.
The plot clicked along quickly, and held my interest all the way through. I was sad when it was over because I enjoyed following alongside Yates as he worked the main case and helped his officemates work their cases. But I’m pleased to see Book 2 will be available soon, so I know what I’ll be reading when it is published.
If you’re looking for a fun traditional PI series, give this a go. Faricy also writes the Dev Haskell, PI, series, and my personal favorite, Jack Dillon, U.S. Marshall series. Like Yates, both the Haskell and Dillon series are pure entertaining reads with interesting plots, likeable characters, and snappy dialogue.
I am a huge fan of this author, and was thrilled to get in on the ground floor of a new series. There’s a clever cross-over opening featuring one of the author’s other PIs, Dev Haskell, which was an extra treat. I’m hoping to see more of that in future books. Yates is an interesting character. He’s by the book, but will throw a punch when necessary and he doesn’t take stupid chances. Not that he doesn’t think about taking them, but some sense of self-preservation keeps him from doing dumb things and that’s a plus in PI novels.
The plot clicked along quickly, and held my interest all the way through. I was sad when it was over because I enjoyed following alongside Yates as he worked the main case and helped his officemates work their cases. But I’m pleased to see Book 2 will be available soon, so I know what I’ll be reading when it is published.
If you’re looking for a fun traditional PI series, give this a go. Faricy also writes the Dev Haskell, PI, series, and my personal favorite, Jack Dillon, U.S. Marshall series. Like Yates, both the Haskell and Dillon series are pure entertaining reads with interesting plots, likeable characters, and snappy dialogue.
June 20, 2025
I am not sure where to start with this review. I vacillated between 1 star and 2 stars and decided to give it 1 star for the following reasons:
* I find the cover of the book offensive. The next book's cover has a woman in the same unflattering position that is in a demeaning and sexually orientated position. Is this so that men will buy this book? I am still scratching my head and wondering why I chose to read the book in the first place, since I found the cover offensive. My only is excuse is that you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover. In this instance, I should have.
* The conversations in this book are strange. Did the author need to come up with a certain number of words? Who writes things like, "take care" and "bye-bye" in a text message. He adds all the words in a conversation like he is talking to a real person that is so polite that they need to say all the extra words to close a conversation. Again, just added words for the count.
*The story was really boring and didn't have much excitement. Did we really need to know what time he went to bed each night, or if he slept through the night, what he had for breakfast or if he had 3 McDonalds cheeseburgers or a salad for lunch or if he was counting calories? He lets you know what time he left for the evening and what time each of his partners and secretary left work. Or that he talks to his secretary each morning for 'x' number of minutes and her kids put a bid in on a Victorian House and for him to ask about it every few days? It has nothing to with the story at all. Again, I say word filler.
Do yourself a favor and skip this book and save your money. I won't be wasting my time on this author again.
* I find the cover of the book offensive. The next book's cover has a woman in the same unflattering position that is in a demeaning and sexually orientated position. Is this so that men will buy this book? I am still scratching my head and wondering why I chose to read the book in the first place, since I found the cover offensive. My only is excuse is that you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover. In this instance, I should have.
* The conversations in this book are strange. Did the author need to come up with a certain number of words? Who writes things like, "take care" and "bye-bye" in a text message. He adds all the words in a conversation like he is talking to a real person that is so polite that they need to say all the extra words to close a conversation. Again, just added words for the count.
*The story was really boring and didn't have much excitement. Did we really need to know what time he went to bed each night, or if he slept through the night, what he had for breakfast or if he had 3 McDonalds cheeseburgers or a salad for lunch or if he was counting calories? He lets you know what time he left for the evening and what time each of his partners and secretary left work. Or that he talks to his secretary each morning for 'x' number of minutes and her kids put a bid in on a Victorian House and for him to ask about it every few days? It has nothing to with the story at all. Again, I say word filler.
Do yourself a favor and skip this book and save your money. I won't be wasting my time on this author again.
June 16, 2025
Prolific and veteran mystery writer Mike Faricy, author of numerous series, including the long-running Dev Haskell series, comes up with another winner. The new series is entitled Yucky Yates.
Yates is a former DEA agent who has started a private investigation business. Yates is joined by his partners and other support staff, who contribute to making the first book of the series entertaining and amusing. It revolves around an old-school friend of Yates who has gone missing after being married to a strip club owner for several years. As the book proceeds, we observe Yates and his team as they attempt to discover the details behind the disappearance. We gain insight into how Yucky operates and what his motivation is for solving the case. Yucky is more straightforward than Faricy's more well-known protagonist, Dev Haskell, but readers need not worry. Series readers can look forward to many more adventures with Yucky and his staff as they solve the cases that are brought to their attention daily.
Current followers of the author have much to look forward to, as the author will most assuredly develop this series and characters into a long-running adventure that will be anticipated with great eagerness.
Yucky Yates is a winner, and I highly recommend that veteran readers of the Dev Haskell and his other series pick up the Yucky Yates novel and prepare themselves for an entertaining PI novel.
Yates is a former DEA agent who has started a private investigation business. Yates is joined by his partners and other support staff, who contribute to making the first book of the series entertaining and amusing. It revolves around an old-school friend of Yates who has gone missing after being married to a strip club owner for several years. As the book proceeds, we observe Yates and his team as they attempt to discover the details behind the disappearance. We gain insight into how Yucky operates and what his motivation is for solving the case. Yucky is more straightforward than Faricy's more well-known protagonist, Dev Haskell, but readers need not worry. Series readers can look forward to many more adventures with Yucky and his staff as they solve the cases that are brought to their attention daily.
Current followers of the author have much to look forward to, as the author will most assuredly develop this series and characters into a long-running adventure that will be anticipated with great eagerness.
Yucky Yates is a winner, and I highly recommend that veteran readers of the Dev Haskell and his other series pick up the Yucky Yates novel and prepare themselves for an entertaining PI novel.
June 17, 2025
A new series by one of my must read authors. Now this will be a must read series. Yucky Yates (blame his older sisters) is a former DEA agent now a Private Investigator. Think a more mature Dev Haskell with partners and a receptionist, without Tubby Gustafson or Morton. Maybe he will end up with a Morton down the road. One of Yucky's former classmates want him to find her ex husband. Monthly support payments have quit coming and he has disappeared. He owns a strip club and she used to be a dancer there. Yucky's partner wants his help serving a warrant on an insurance fraud claim. this turns out very entertaining as the guy is not only committing fraud, but is stealing from his employer. Yucky's case is also very entertaining, but for much different reasons.
June 11, 2025
Disappointed
I’ve read a lot of Faricy’s books and have enjoyed them though they seem pretty formulaic. Was interested in the new series but Yucky just wasn’t very good. The most interesting thing about the new character is his name. Unlike Dev, he doesn’t seem interested in women.
The book seemed to be written like he was getting paid by the word. I don’t think a day goes by in the book where he doesn’t include what time he got up and went to bed and whether he had set his alarm. The actual plot is simple with no twists and you could recap the entire book in a couple sentences.
I’m only giving it three stars because of his other work.
I’ve read a lot of Faricy’s books and have enjoyed them though they seem pretty formulaic. Was interested in the new series but Yucky just wasn’t very good. The most interesting thing about the new character is his name. Unlike Dev, he doesn’t seem interested in women.
The book seemed to be written like he was getting paid by the word. I don’t think a day goes by in the book where he doesn’t include what time he got up and went to bed and whether he had set his alarm. The actual plot is simple with no twists and you could recap the entire book in a couple sentences.
I’m only giving it three stars because of his other work.
June 25, 2025
Yucky is the newest character in Mike Faricy’s books.
I’ve never read a book by this author that I did not thoroughly enjoy.
Yucky is a PI that makes wiser choices than his PI friend Dev.
Action packed, with lots of very colorful and quirky characters.
Informative with some history of Minnesota.
Detailed descriptives of what is going on, seen, found that make you feel like you are part of the action.
Mystery until the end to keep you turning the pages.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this new series.
I’ve never read a book by this author that I did not thoroughly enjoy.
Yucky is a PI that makes wiser choices than his PI friend Dev.
Action packed, with lots of very colorful and quirky characters.
Informative with some history of Minnesota.
Detailed descriptives of what is going on, seen, found that make you feel like you are part of the action.
Mystery until the end to keep you turning the pages.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this new series.
July 28, 2025
WTF did I just waste three hours of my life on?
If this book had an editor to cut out all the boring parts, it would cease to exist. Zero suspense, not a single interesting character, vapid plot, and plodding to the extreme. Heavy, though, on what Yucky had for breakfast and interacting politely with nice law enforcement. Who told this guy to write? Criminally awful.
If this book had an editor to cut out all the boring parts, it would cease to exist. Zero suspense, not a single interesting character, vapid plot, and plodding to the extreme. Heavy, though, on what Yucky had for breakfast and interacting politely with nice law enforcement. Who told this guy to write? Criminally awful.
June 16, 2025
Another terrific Mike Faricy mystery!
Yucky Yates is another PI in the twin cities. I really enjoyed reading about this character. He has spunk and smarts and does things mostly legally. Good work, Mike. I'm glad Yucky got his own story! Hope there will be more.
Yucky Yates is another PI in the twin cities. I really enjoyed reading about this character. He has spunk and smarts and does things mostly legally. Good work, Mike. I'm glad Yucky got his own story! Hope there will be more.
July 3, 2025
reasonably good
I like the idea of a spin-off from Dev Haskel but it didn’t live up to what I expected . It pointed in one direction and never changed . The Dev Haskel books are much better . Hopefully the next Yucky Yates will be better
I like the idea of a spin-off from Dev Haskel but it didn’t live up to what I expected . It pointed in one direction and never changed . The Dev Haskel books are much better . Hopefully the next Yucky Yates will be better
June 8, 2025
Great addition.
This is a great addition to the Dev Haskell and the Jack Dillon series. Can’t wait for the next one
This is a great addition to the Dev Haskell and the Jack Dillon series. Can’t wait for the next one
June 10, 2025
A different take on a murder mystery for Mike.
Mike did it again - read it within 24 hours because I didn't want to put it down! Thanks for an interesting read, Mike!
Mike did it again - read it within 24 hours because I didn't want to put it down! Thanks for an interesting read, Mike!
June 22, 2025
Good mystery story.
Enjoyed the writer's new character. Liked the mystery story. Kept me reading. Not boring.
Ready for Yucky's next event to happen.
Enjoyed the writer's new character. Liked the mystery story. Kept me reading. Not boring.
Ready for Yucky's next event to happen.
July 16, 2025
This one was almost too full of details. I rate it 4.5 stars.
July 16, 2025
a pure procedural
Easy to read, less than perfect pi, very different. The reading flowed well and nothing earth shattering but that’s ok
Easy to read, less than perfect pi, very different. The reading flowed well and nothing earth shattering but that’s ok
July 16, 2025
Cut & Paste
The same sentences over, and over and over again! The book has reached the end
with 84% read!
Boring! Boring!
The same sentences over, and over and over again! The book has reached the end
with 84% read!
Boring! Boring!
July 17, 2025
Great Book
I loved this book. It follows Russ "Yucky" Yates and one of his cases as a PI. I can't wait for the next book.
I loved this book. It follows Russ "Yucky" Yates and one of his cases as a PI. I can't wait for the next book.
August 26, 2025
lame ending
Anticlimactic ending. The relationship between Yucky and the cops was not realistic. The cops wereto nice dealing with a private eye.
Anticlimactic ending. The relationship between Yucky and the cops was not realistic. The cops wereto nice dealing with a private eye.
Read
September 14, 2025I could not read this book. I tried but the narrative was not for me.
September 17, 2025
No character development, minimal story development, no twists, to turns.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews