The Big Con

Chuck Restic Mystery #3

by Adam Walker Phillips

An HR exec and part-time private eye searches for a deadly corporate consultant in a mystery with “a smooth noir vibe [and] a satisfying series of twists” (Kirkus Reviews).   Chuck Restic’s life as a part-time private investigator is going just fine. As a corporate HR manager, he has a real consultant guru Julie St. Jean is the bane of his existence. Over his twenty-year career, Chuck has been forced to partner with her on inane employee engagement programs whose only value has been to Julie’s sizable bank account. But that’s all about to change, as Chuck’s two separate lives suddenly converge.   When Julie is suddenly wanted for the murder of an associate, it becomes Chuck’s job to find her. Teaming up with Julie’s former assistant, Chuck follows a trail that leads to an abandoned Bentley at Union Station and more dead bodies. As he uncovers Julie’s shadowy past, Chuck begins to realize that she’s a much more dangerous problem than he ever imagined.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 14, 2018

About the author

Adam Walker Phillips is the author of the Chuck Restic Mystery Series, which follows a burnt-out HR man who moonlights as a private detective.

Phillips is a 20-year corporate vet who has endured countless PowerPoint decks, offsite retreats and visioning sessions to bring this mystery series to life. His sardonic take on corporate life brings a fresh voice to the classic detective novel.

Phillips lives with his family in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Ryan Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the first two books in the series. This turoned out to be the big case for HR manger and sleuth Chuck Restic. Find a colleague That doesn't want to be found, before it comes back to bite him. I Really wish there were more of the series, but it ended and a somewhat high note. It was a good series of funny mysteries.

[Viva · Rating 1 out of 5]

GR rating of 1 star = 1 did not like it.

I liked both books 1 and 2 (3 and 4 stars respectively) so I decided to read #3. Unfortunately I was not in the mood for this type of writing today. The book starts off with a long narrative apropos of nothing, it kind of just meanders on. I really want to just get into the meat of a mystery so I'm already annoyed. Secondly I thought the stilted writing (copied from another reviewer) and clever quips was a bit cringy. After reading on a bit I found that I was forcing myself to continue and I decided I didn't want to continue with the torture and dnf'd it.

[Donn Headley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely convoluted plot (in which the author himself gets lost too often); unconvincing characters; obscure motives. The only virtue to this ridiculous mystery is a pretty accurate description of the topography and geography of the San Gabriel foothills, for what that's worth. But the main bulk of this messy (and bloody) plot is a waste of the time and considerable effort it takes to follow the innumerable rabbit-trails that ultimately lead to nowhere. At least nowhere interesting or credible.

[G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but uninvolving for some reason. Maybe it's because I work in a big corporation. You may enjoy this. It is a mystery after all! But don't lose your page-turning momentum by living in the material world, Grasshopper.

[Scott Drake · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wrote better in middle school. The stilted language and shallow characters bored me to tears. I gave it two stars only because I have on occasion read worse. I didn't bother to finish them either.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kindle