The Bay: A Mystery Novel set in Newport Beach

by Davis MacDonald

It was supposed to be a working vacation for the Judge, ensconced in a bungalow in Newport Beach with his new and very pregnant wife. But the FBI emerged from the morning’s mist along the Balboa Beach, asking a small favor. The favor detoured into a body, and the body led to questions nobody wanted to ask, a case nobody wanted to work. Dragging the Judge into a web of intrigue and stealth, leaving him to unravel a murder over FBI’s objections. A murder of one of their own. And what initially appeared to be a homicide investigation, morphed into a race against time to stop a heinous plot calculated to bring death to Orange County. Follow the Judge through the sleek bars and restaurants of Newport Beach, across the premier golf courses and the swank Bay-view homes and condos of the wealthy, the hidden dens and byways of killers, and the back offices of the FBI, as he follows the scent, step by step, back to perpetrators determined to change the face of America forever.

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2017

Reviews

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Balboa (Peninsula Point), FBI SA Frank Jackson & FBI SA Charlie Thomas had a favor to ask of the Judge (50).

Katy (wife) & Judge continued to discuss in 1 month they would be parents.
The Judge went to see Mr. X (aka Malik, Muslim, Order of Islam), & Mariyan (wife, P/G, Orange Coast College, Muslim).
Cynthia Holbrook met Judge at Starbucks.
The Judge ask Detective Sandra “Sandy” Wells (Irish, Newport PD Lieutenant) how she was doing with the FBI SA Larry Holbrook (34, Mr. X’s handler, KLD) case.
His testicles had been cut off & his head was severed. The body parts were nowhere to be found.
Why did Malik (32, pharmacist) call the Judge & need to speak to him ASAP?
The Judge received a note saying; Katy & Annie the dog was going back to Brentwood to stay with her parents.
The Santa Ana PD had arrested Abdul (19, Mariyan’s younger brother, Muslim).

Abdul Safar is his attorney.
What about the Fairy Wings?
Will the killer(s) be caught & brought to justice?

Warning: This book contains adult content, & violence, which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written political thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great political thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Storycartel; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons (Washburn)

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this before traveling to southern CA. The book met my goal—it was fairly descriptive of Newport Beach and Balboa Island, so I’m glad I read it. The plot held my interest, although I kind of figured out the ending pretty soon into the book. The book wants to try to delve into political/social issues, and it wasn’t a wildly enlightening discussion of them (but not horrible, either). The book is told from the perspective of a 50-year old, married man, and parts of that perspective were interesting, and parts of that were off-putting. It did sometimes seem like the author was trying to live vicariously through the main character (when he had a gorgeous woman repeatedly throwing herself at him again and again—we were all dragged along on the author’s fantasy). The book had more typos than I can ever remember seeing in a published book. (Things that spell check wouldn’t have caught.)
I’m glad I read this in advance of my trip, and I don’t plan to read more in this series unless they are set in places I will be visiting.

[Jennifer Soppe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am voluntarily reviewing an Advanced Reader Copy of this book that I received for free.

This is the first book I have read from Davis Mac Donald. The 4th book his The Judge series, The Bay delivers an interesting look into the new face of FBI investigations and how (or not to in some cases) the not so average flawed Joe can easily be drawn into playing in the world of intrigue. This all takes place while trying to keep his pregnant wife from worrying about what he has gotten himself into. A thrilling look into the new normal of paranoid and not so paranoid thinking while solving crime.

An edge of your seat weekend read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book by Davis MacDonald in the continuing series of The Judge who somehow seems to attract dead bodies like a magnet, and then must do his best to solve the murders while staying alive in the process. All the while he is doing this, he must also adjust to life as a newly married man with a younger wife who is expecting their first child. I could easily relate to the characters in the book and could picture them in my mind through the detailed description of them by the author. This will not be my last book in the Newport Beach series. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of the book from Hidden Gems.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was really good. I loved that this was a standalone story, but I will be looking forward to going back and reading the previous three. This was a great mystery that I found hard to put down once I got reading. I would recommend it.
*I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This is my honest review.*