A Dirty Business

by Joe Humphrey

When an unemployed New Yorker returns to the city from a trip to North Carolina, he soon lands a job as a private investigator and is assigned an ordinary, if slightly peculiar, case. Almost immediately after setting out on his first investigative effort, however, the case begins to lead him in various directions, and along winding paths, as several painful truths are uncovered.

Genres: Mystery

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Aaron Lazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dirty Business, the new debut crime novel by Joe Humphrey, goes down smooth and easy, like a slug of Chivas Regal on the rocks. [return][return]Kevin Bailey, a young black man recently returned to New York from a self-imposed hermitage in the Blue Ridge Mountains, returns home to the color and vibrancy of New York City, broke, with no place to live, and badly in need of a job. Armed with a degree in criminal justice and a kindly referral from a friend in Harlem, Bailey lands a job at Frank Given s Detective Agency. [return][return]His new boss, swamped with work, throws Bailey a test case that should be cut and dry, a simple assignment from a NYC socialite to dig up dirt on her son s gold-digging prospective fianc�e. The client, a pretentious blue-haired matron named Selena Eldritch, reluctantly confides in Bailey, whose shabby clothes initially weakens her confidence. Resolved to improve his image and prove to this woman and his boss that he has what it takes, Bailey digs into the case with gusto. [return][return]With a photo of Edward Eldritch and Donna Greenwood in hand, Bailey sets about to tail Edward Eldritch, who leads him on a wild chase hours away from Manhattan. After winding through villages and chasing the Hudson north, they arrive in the historic village of Cold Spring, New York, where Eldritch meets a brunette and ducks into a local tavern. Bailey, bold as brass, follows them inside and learns that the woman s name is Donna Greenwood. [return][return]Problem is, she doesn t match the blond in the photo.[return][return]What appears to be a straightforward case begins to unravel into a tangled web of intrigue and bizarre obsessions. When Bailey finally identifies the blond as Norma Vidon, he discovers she s been missing for two years and the local police have apparently given up on the investigation. Bailey s sense of injustice kicks in, and like a terrier on a bone, he gnaws at it with diligence and purpose, unearthing dead bodies and intriguing red herrings that keep the reader guessing until the end. [return][return]Humphrey writes with a strong consistent voice, with none of the pretentious tools often found in new writers. His style is simple and engaging, and the story moves, whether he s engaged in a fistfight in a parking lot or calmly observing the detailed architecture of a stately edifice in New York City.

[Bobbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a short story-quick mover. Other than the main Character, the other characters weren’t deeply written. I wasn’t connected to any of the them.

[F.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how the style of the character in the book is portrayed.Author Joe Humphrey introuduces us(the reader) to Kevin Bailey a typical guy who seeking a job,and a place to stay,the job he ends up getting is of PI(private investigator) work.Kevin very first case takes him all over the city of New York as well as the suburbs,and into Pennsylvania.He finds out there's more to being a PI than he thought.He gets hired for one case,and ends up solving a missing person,and seeking some info on a murder in which are tied into the original case he was hired to do.The Author is very descriptive in his writing style of the places Kevin Bailey has to go to to get info.Also I like how the author writes in detail of what the character(s) are doing as though your watching,I mean reading the character(s) play by play moves in the story.That just intensified the plot of the story even more,but be forewarned you have to read the book in its entirety to keep up with each characters that ties into the case Kevin is trying to solve.Oh! and please don't jump to any conclusion in thinking you are solving the case as you read along as Kevin is set out to do,because the author put a twist in there that you didn't see coming.A DIRTY BUSINESS it's just what it meant, because reading it you might think you KNOW how it turns out,but Kevin Bailey is the PI who ends up solving the case.A MUST READ!!!!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Settings of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Moved along at a good pace. I read the entire book in a day, skipping over blocks of geographical, historical, and other details.

Bailey is on his first week as a Private Investigator, his first assignment being to discover everything he can about the client's son Edward's fiancee since she stands to marry into wealth. He discovers that the woman in the photo he is given is not the same woman the son is engaged to. The woman in the photo, he discovers has left town with no forwarding information, seemingly disappearing without a trace.

Apparently Edward is quite the player as Bailey soon learns. He also learns that some of these woman have something in common.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast-paced PI read. The writing matches the main character...simple, unpretentious, and matter-of-fact. I enjoyed the twists, and the way he develops his new skills. I also enjoyed that the author wrapped up loose ends. As an example "Owing to that perhaps, I never spoke to or saw Phillip Vidon again." Just in case you ever wondered what happened to him later...

The ending tended to wrap things up more than a novel usually does. For that reason, it may seem to drag some, but I think that in this case, in the voice the whole book uses, it worked.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short book that I enjoyed reading, thought the end could have been developed better.

[VLynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great dective story, twists turns and enough personality to keep your interest. Excellent kindle freebie!

[Daeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick, easy read that followed the conventions of PI fiction. Some of the dialogue was stilted but, overall, the writing was done in a professional manner.