The Window-Shade Job

Slater Ibáñez #9

by George Bixley

Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of Los Angeles, rooting out insurance fraud, not afraid to use whatever means necessary to get things done, and not about to hold back with his fists. A queer antihero for a new age, Slater walks the line between ordinary life and the frayed fringes of society, keeping his balance with the back-channel support he gets from his idiot cop ex-boyfriend, Conrad, and regular squeeze Andy.Pulled in on a window-shade job to gather intel on a cheating spouse, Slater discovers there’s another observer on the case, prowling around the backyard with a camera. In the course of tracking him down, along with his target’s paramour, he soon finds out there’s more going on than run-of-the-mill infidelity. The bunco accountant sleeps with anyone he can persuade, regardless of gender, including Slater. And what is Tato really up to in his seedy little shipping store? Dark secrets come to the surface, and with help from a gallery clerk, Slater starts to put the pieces together, all the while trying to stay sober, keep one step ahead of the law, and sort out his feelings for Andy. In a bid to protect the naive European caught up in the intrigue, he comes up with an audacious plan that might just save the guy—and make Slater some serious bank.

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2020

Reviews

[PaperMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when one begins to expect Slater to be progressing in his state of redemption ... he gets in touch with a few his personal deadly sins within the first chapter ... lust, wrath, alcoholic gluttony - sigh. It's a journey of three steps forwards and two steps back here folks! Just as well Slater's cheer squad doesn't give up on him ... the full supportive cast of secondary characters show up to aid Slater his latest adventure ... an adultery covert scoop job which segues into an international criminal enterprise.

There's quite a few more opportunistic sex moments in this installment compared to previous books - I'm a little agog there's so many guys out there open and available for impromptu hook-ups at all manner of day and night! The plot dragged a little in parts and is not as interesting as some of the other Ibanez titles. And just when I'm about to write him off as a lost cause ... our MC gets flashes of insight into his solitary and rather non-self-controlled existence and I start to hope for him all over again. Let's hope Slater is saving his best for last.

2.5 stars bumped up to 3 stars.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 2.5 Stars **