Behind Closed Doors

Eddie Flynn #1

by Michael Donovan

The first appearance of P.I. Eddie Flynn in the book that won the 2012 Northern Crime competition.

"Eddie Flynn is part Philip Marlowe, part Eddie Gumshoe, a likeable wisecracking guy ... humour ... violent confrontations ... well recommended." - EUROCRIME

"... great concise writing style ... fast paced action ... Donovan makes you feel as though you are uncovering the truth ... well worth reading." - NEWBOOKSMAG




Family feuds, booze and bad company. Teenager Rebecca Slater's walk on the wild side has taken a downward spiral. And now she's disappeared.

But her family don't seem to have noticed.

Wealthy, private, dysfunctional, the Slaters deny that their daughter is missing – even as they block all attempts by Rebecca's friends to contact her.

So the friends contact a private investigator.

Eddie Flynn is good at finding people. And he's good at spotting lies. It doesn't take him long to see through the Slaters' denials. So he digs around, and isn't too surprised when some unpleasant people come scuttling out of the cracks in their perfect world.

But for these people the teenager's disappearance is part of a plan. One that's too important to be threatened by an investigator with more persistence than sense. So it's time for the investigator to disappear...

Genres: Fiction, Crime

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2013

Reviews

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Behind Closed Doors’ is book one in the Eddie Flynn private detective series. I picked it up as a recommendation from Amazon after I recently joined their KindleUnlimited program. I wasn’t sure this Amazon subscription service would be of much value to me because I’ve noticed some of the books available are not very good. However, I am pleased by author Michael Donovan’s Eddie Flynn mysteries! ’Behind Closed Doors’ is a good beach read.

Flynn is funny and loose, somewhat reminiscent of the semi-hard-boiled character that Humphrey Bogart did so well in his performances as a detective. When Flynn gets into difficulties, which he does often, his instinct is to make light of it. Fortunately he has a partner, Sean Shaughnessy. Both of them are ex-Metropolitan (I can only guess what this means as I am not from England) and their detective agency has been in business for six years. Shaughnessy also was in special forces.

When Lucy, the agency’s secretary, directs a new client, Ms. Sadie Bannister, into Flynn’s office, his first instinct is to throw her out. She is sixteen years old. The agency does not take kids as clients. But something about her desperation wears down his resolve to not become involved.

Sadie’s best friend, Rebecca Townsend, is missing. They talk everyday, usually. But not only has she not shown up anywhere for a week, her parents, wealthy and connected, are lying about her disappearance. They say she is sick, which Sadie knows is not true. Why are her parents lying? Sadie is really really scared.

Against his better judgement, Flynn takes the case. After all, they are teenage girls. Rebecca probably had a fight with her parents and is hiding out to punish them. But when Flynn investigates, it turns out to be something bad just as Sadie suspected! A woman connected to the case goes missing! This is more than a teenager acting out…

The novel takes awhile to get going and I almost quit. But I liked the classic mystery style so I didn’t. I’m glad I didn’t! This is a fun read for mystery fans, but I did find myself stumped over some of the British idioms and references.

[Anita Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came upon this book in a strange way

I had just finished reading a book by Steve Cavanagh about a New York lawyer named Eddie Flynn and I wanted read some more books by him. So I typed Eddie Flynn into the search on my Kindle to see more of his books. These books by Michael Donovan came up. I was still looking for the other Eddie Flynn books and when I found them the only one on Kindle Unlimited was the one I read. Thirteen. Being as I am disabled and live on a United States disability check I can't afford to buy books. I can just barely afford the Kindle Unlimited. But as I read all of the time, I don't watch TV. So books and my escape. I borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited and I have enjoyed it so much that I'm going to read the rest of the books in this series. I read this book in less than a day as I couldn't put it down. Definitely worth reading.

[Graham glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stay with it.

I nearly gave up on it after The first couple of chapters The initial contact with 'the client' seemed hardly credible. The first person narrative seemed like a poor imitation of a Mickey Spillane novel. But, there was enough there to hold my interest and I stuck with it. Ultimately I was glad I did.

I deducted a star for the overuse of Americanisms and the lack of information about Flynn's and Shughnessey's antecedent's, although I expect this will eventually be addressed.

Oh, one more thing, there does not need to be a wisecrack in every utterance.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I would recommend this book to anyone who's into British crime mysteries.. It's a step away from a police procedural, but it makes for a good change. The humour is dark, the plot is good. Can't wait to read #2!!

[Peg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

It took me awhile to get into this book but it's good if you want a light read with a wise-cracking British detective. I'm still wondering what a Frogeye car looks like!

[Derek Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So now I have met Eddie Flynn and I must admit to quite liking the fella.
He’s quite the stereotypical gumshoe being an ex-cop that is still well respected by some senior police but for what and why he left we do not get to know - perhaps that is a ruse to get us to see if the next book exposes more of his past. He has the down-at-heel agency that is bolstered by an ex who runs the agency and a partner who was in the military.
Although set in the UK some of the smart dialogue would not be out of place in The Naked Gun but it is tempered and whilst sometimes raising a smile is not laugh out loud. The plot is certainly not slapstick. In fact the plot is cleverly constructed starting with an innocent enquiry about a missing friend and building into something far more serious and dangerous.
The story moves along quickly and is easy to read and quite a page turner.
I have already bought and downloaded Eddie’s next outing but I have an appointment with Harry in LA first.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, nicely written, though the PI-speak was a little overdone. A couple of niggling oddities - the story is set in England, but uses the word purse instead of handbag and consistently speaks of the Mets (an NY baseball team?) when meaning the Met (Metropolitan Police). Overall an enjoyable book.

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

OMG I loved this book. Was looking for a new character to get into and an so looking forward to MD's next few books. Story was interesting, characters were great but I just loved his writing style. It could have been me.... well it couldn't as I can't write books but if I was able to, it'd be in this style. Of to read book no.2 now....

[Tina O'reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read private detective story - main character likeable - investigation not as simple as it first turns out.

Don't be put off by the start, a young minor enters the agency and asks for help in find her missing friend. It sounds a bit lame perhaps, but it gets a lot better.

Would definitely read more in this series. If you like Strike by J K Rowling you'll possibly enjoy this.

[David Beniston · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the plot is good there is just too much padding with pointless descriptions of car journeys for the investigator to ask two questions get no answers and then there is another description of the car journey back. Lots of scope for character development missed. Don't feel i know the main character any more having read the book I won't bother with anymore in this series

[Doghouse Gav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Great writing. Wonderful storyline. Twists and turns. Great characters and descriptive narrative.Not to mention very funny dark humour thrown in. What more could you need from a book?

[Nandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was all over the place. The grammar and spelling wasn’t great not to mention the back and forth rambling of the main character. The main character is likeable and however he’s extremely flawed in his judgment. As I read it was extremely hard to follow.

[Anne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining

A racy book which beckoned page turning until finished.Thoroughly enjoyable with interesting characters without stretching reality too far, now looking for the next one!

[Justin Nelson]

It appears there are two Eddie Flynn series - one by Steve Cavanagh and this by Michael Donovan - strange!

This one was good: set in London (mainly) and an interesting, twisting plot with a satisfactory conclusion. Now for the next in the series

[helen ferry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Fast paced and brilliantly written. Couldn't put it down. Can't wait to read more from this author. Do yourself a favour and read this one then you will be hooked same as me

[Tracey Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow read

Found this really difficult to get in to. I persevered but found it a little dull and one dimensional. Not in a hurry to read any more.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read - hard boiled style
Story stretched belief at yes but who cares we read to escape reality

[Doreen Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Loved the characters, especially Eddie & his humour. A very different plot and scarily real great twist on the end. On to the next one now

[Millie Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book! I enjoyed the way it was written and while I did guess what was going to happen, I still enjoyed it

[shirley jill carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book but always do enjoy Eddie Flynn the main character , he's funny and witty.

[Nas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donovan’s debut novel, Behind Closed Doors, is one of the first novels published by Moth Publishing, and it does not disappoint. Contemporary crime novels are either renown for their elaborate and grand plots (Dan Brown anyone?) or ruled by already established authors (Harlan Coben and Val McDermid, to name a couple), a tradition that Donovan refreshingly breaks with remarkable success.

Behind Closed Doors follows private eye Eddie Flynn as he attempts to discover what really happened to Rebecca Slater, a teenage girl who falls mysteriously ‘ill’, whilst uncovering a covert network of criminal activity within London at the request of Rebecca’s best friend, Sadie. On this path to the truth about the disappearance of Rebecca, the reader is taken on a journey through the London backstreets with Flynn.

Donovan really succeeds in breathing life into a host of warm, witty and realistic characters – Sadie, Flynn and Arabel (Flynn’s girlfriend) in particular – who are responsible for some of the best dialogue exchanges within the novel. However, characters who appear fleetingly often fail to make it off the page, and can appear one dimensional – here’s looking at Rebecca herself – but overall Donovan really steps up to the plate in terms of character development and connectivity.

The plot itself is deliciously complex, without becoming too fanciful or unrealistic – by dealing with an array of real-life characters, Donovan creates a potentially real criminal plot, with a chillingly indifferent ring leader. Confrontation scenes are scattered through the latter half of the novel, and each one manages to make the readers hair stand on end as they are catapulted into the middle of the conflict with Flynn himself. Donovan manages to bring various locations to life, and his descriptions really contribute to the success of the novel. The whole methodology of the investigation is wonderfully in tune with the real workings – rather than simply dramatic shoot out after another. The author grounds his work and features some of the less appealing elements to investigations, such as the ‘stake outs’, yet the inclusion of these serve to make the character of Flynn more appealing, as well as adding an extra layer of realism to the novel itself.

The Northern Crime Competition of 2012 certainly chose the right winner. Behind Closed Doors is a wonderful debut novel in a hugely competitive market, and manages to create an enthralling novel which readers find themselves greatly drawn into – almost thinking themselves as Flynn’s partner. Michael Donovan deserves congratulating for this remarkable work, and this novel hopefully marks the beginning of a successful career.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of very funny asides and lines in this story. I liked Eddie Flynn and his cohorts a lot. It was a good story too. Reading how parts came together reminded me of the recent TV show By Any Means and the way those writers knitted all the loose ends together by the end. Cleverly done.
My main gripe was the author's way of keeping repeating the detective agency's name ad nauseum and his continual use of "I gave her" when referring to the way he looked at people. While it was highly amusing the first couple of times I made a note halfway through that there were a few too many and they kept on coming and in the end cost him a star as they just became tiresome in the end !!
There were the odd errors like missing hyphens and twice using mislead when he meant misled.
Overall pretty good, though, and I'd certainly read another by him.

[Miss Dizzy Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, loved Eddie Flynn, great character definitely my sense of humour without ruining a great detective story, no far fetched bits or constant fights where they continually bounce back either, would make a good tv film, hope there's more to come.

[Emma Hatswell]

Great book- Quite simple but one where you want to keep reading till the end!
Have now downloaded the second book in the series starting it today!!