Chance McCoy was a private detective killed during a routine case, but he is given a second chance to make good. But with his track record as a P.I., he just might blow this chance, too.
SECOND CHANCE is a year in the life of this P.I. who usually misses clues by a mile, but this time there just might be some help along the way. Or maybe his new pal, Harold, was right when he said, "Everything you need is inside, my friend."
What do the Old Los Angeles Zoo, a mortuary, a Hollywood movie set, and Heaven all have in common? They are all settings for a series of linked short stories in the latest mystery from G. B. Pool. Chance McCoy, a cynical private investigator assigned by an otherworldly being to solve a different crime in each story, thinks he’s a lousy detective—but he’s actually pretty good. And he has a heart as big as anyone’s, especially when it comes to animals and children. The stories are laced with Pool’s trademark wry humor and take the reader to unexpected and fascinating places in Chance's quest to set things right: a mortuary and a crematorium not the least among them. This is a fun, entertaining read with lots of action and some very intriguing puzzles to solve.
I usually don't enjoy short stories, which tend to leave ends dangling. Not the case (pun intended) with these stories, which all resolve in a satisfying manner. My own favorites: the first story, the Halloween story and the last one, with glimpses of Old Hollywood glamor and its stars of the black and white era. Chance McCoy brings his own clear voice to these stories, and the author's own experience with providing second chances to so many of the pets she has sheltered over the years providing a more than satisfying conclusion to this book. A unique premise, but I did wonder what would happen when Chance came to the end of his second chance. Intriguing possibilities, including perhaps a third chance to do more redemption?