Cultured

Jake Longly #6

by D.P. Lyle

Money, sex, power. Jonathon Lindemann offers it all—just don’t mind the missing girls.

Jake Longly, ex-pro baseball player turned restauranteur, is back where he relaxing on the beach in front of his restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama. His peace is interrupted, however, when he receives a call from his private investigator father—April Wilkerson has gone missing from Lindemann Farms, the rustic, yet posh, resort built by self-help and financial guru Jonathon Lindemann.

Lindemann, founder of The Lindemann Method (TLM), recruits wealthy people to join his program, charging a hefty entry fee but in return promising huge financial gains and self-enlightenment. Jake’s celebrity status makes him the best person for the case.

When Jake and his girlfriend, Nicole, go on an undercover visit to Lindemann Farms, some suspicious activity makes them wonder about the legitimacy of TLM. Soon, a private conversation with one of the girls hired to work at the resort reveals their unorthodox, and immoral, recruitment methods.

As the layers peel away, darker edges appear. Does Jonathon truly make money for his investors, or is he a scam artist? Is April merely the latest in a series of missing young women? Jake and Nicole need to find her, and soon, before TLM catches wind of their true reasons for visiting the farm.

Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich

While all of the novels in the Jake Longly Thriller Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence

Deep Six
A-List
Sunshine State
Rigged
The OC
Cultured

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2023

About the author

DP Lyle, MD is the Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning and Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, Silver Falchion, and USA Best Book Award nominated author of many non-fiction books as well as numerous works of fiction.

He has worked with many novelists and with the writers of popular television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, House, Medium, and Pretty Little Liars and others

For the past 35 years, he has practiced Cardiology in Orange County, California. He is the co-host, along with Jan Burke, of Crime and Science Radio, a twice-monthly program on Suspense Radio.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake Longly, an ex ball player who now operates a bar and restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama, is occasionally drafted into private eye work by his father, Ray, hairs girlfriend, Nicole, and his best friend Pancake. Light-hearted rather than hardboiled, this sixth entry into the series finds Jake and his crew searching for a missing girl, in a life-affirming cult run by a supposed financial guru and staffed by young gorgeous women and seeking a clientele of high rollers. Everything about the group is too good to be true and the deeper they delve the more questions arise.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Oceanview Publishing and D.P. Lyle for granting me a digital copy of this book.

3⭐ - Despite this being book 6 in the series, it can still be read as a standalone.

A girl goes missing from a wellness resort called The Farm, a former baseball player Jake and his girlfriend Nichole join the investigation in search of the missing girl.

This fast-paced story is told from different POV's which is nice, the characters were a bit one dimensional but still likeable. I would definitely check out more books in this series.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laid-Back Mystery With Bite. Here in this sixth entry of D.P. Lyle's Gulf Coast based mysteries, we see so much of what makes this series so great. There is quite a bit of humor, a great sense of laid back Gulf Coast small town life, and a mystery that could prove to be either nothing at all or quite sinister indeed. Human/ Sex Trafficking is mentioned early as a possibility of what is happening, though to reveal if it actually is would be a massive spoiler. Just be prepared for the possibility, if that is a major no-go for your own reading tastes. Overall this is truly a great book full of heart and humor all wrapped up in a satisfyingly complex and dangerous-enough mystery. Very much recommended.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyle’s latest hooked me from the start. I really liked all the characters. A fun read, even with the serious subject matter. I will be adding the other Longly series books to my reading list.
4.5 Stars

[Monika Caparelli-Hippert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich bin vor einiger Zeit auf den kleinen US-Indie-Verlag Oceanview Publishing aufmerksam geworden und habe deren Newsletter abonniert, und so bin ich auf „Cultured“ gestoßen. Oceanview macht „Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense“, und zwar richtig gute – ich habe bislang ausnahmslos coole Stories aus diesem Hause gelesen, und ich kenne die Autoren alle nicht, aber Herrn oder Frau Lyle werde ich mir auf jeden Fall merken!
Also, auf Deutsch, hierum geht es: Jake Longly ist Ex-Baseballprofi und Besitzer eines angesagten Restaurants in Alabama. Seine Freundin Nicole ist erfolgreiche Drehbuchschreiberin in Hollywood, und beide könnten so ein schönes glamouröses It-Pärchen sein, allein: sie sind nebenbei als Privatdetektive in der Detektei von Jakes Vater Ray tätig, und das ziemlich erfolgreich. Der Vierte im Bunde ist Jakes alter Schulfreund Pancake, der nicht nur enorme Mengen an Nahrungsmitteln in sich hineinschieben kann und das Restaurant irgendwann mal leer gefuttert haben wird, sondern auch enorme Fähigkeiten als IT Hacker besitzt, und dem nichts verborgen bleibt.
Der aktuelle Auftrag des Teams führt in einen Kult hinein: April Wilkerson, die als Hostess bei „The Lindemann Method“, kurz TLM, arbeitet, ist verschwunden, und ihre besorgte Mutter beauftragt die Detektei, sie zu finden. TLM ist ein Resort für die Schönen und Reichen mit der Versprechung, sowohl Lebenshilfe zu geben als auch Finanztipps zu geben – zu schön, um wahr zu sein, oder? Jake und Nicole schleichen sich undercover ein und decken so einiges an Unstimmigkeiten auf, denn April ist nicht die einzige junge Frau, die von dort verschwunden ist …..
Mein Leseeindruck: Spannend, witzig, mitreißend. Ich fand schon ab Seite 1 den Stil richtig genial: Die meiste Zeit erzählt Jake aus der Ich-Perspektive heraus, und das tut er sehr lakonisch, sehr witzig, sehr authentisch. Eigentlich würde Jake nämlich gerne nur entspannt chillen und das ruhige Leben genießen, aber Nicole sieht das anders, und wo Nicole hingeht, da geht er halt auch hin. Klar. Und wenn das bedeutet, dass er sich in gefährliche Situationen begeben muss, dann ist das halt mal so. Für mich hat einen Großteil des Charmes der Story Jakes Erzählung ausgemacht, das war einfach oft genau mein Humor.
Ein zweiter Teil der Geschichte wurde natürlich aus der auktorialen Perspektive erzählt, wenn es um April ging, bzw., um die Machenschaften des TLM-Clans. Und das war dann weniger humorig, aber sehr spannend.
Natürlich weiß man schon sehr schnell, um was es geht: Menschenhandel und Prostitution. Und wer die Übeltäter sind (oder höchstwahrscheinlich sein können), weiß man auch relativ schnell. Also zumindest mir war das recht schnell klar. Das hat aber der Lesefreude keinerlei Abbruch getan. Die Story war relativ geradlinig, ohne viele unvorhersehbare Wendungen (fand ich), aber nochmals: das war hier auch völlig ok. Es ging darum, wie so ein Kult funktioniert und wie es kommt, dass so viele Leute auf derlei Versprechungen hereinfallen, und was so im Hintergrund abläuft. Und das war verpackt in eine coole Story mit sehr unterhaltsamen Charakteren.
Also, mein Fazit: grandios geschrieben, super unterhaltsam, interessanter und nicht alltäglicher Fall mit ernstem Hintergrund, ich war bestens unterhalten!
Das hier ist der 6. Teil einer Serie um Jake und Nicole, man kann aber auch mit diesem Teil einsteigen und verpasst nichts. Der Fall ist in sich abgeschlossen, und alles, was man über die Protagonisten wissen muss, erzählt einem Jake schon noch – passt 😊.
Besten Dank an den Verlag und Netgalley für das Rezensionsexemplar!

[Ann Dudzinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Book 6 in the Jake Longly Detective Series and the author promised it can stand alone. I suppose it can, considering that all of the backstory you need is dumped into the first three pages. This was followed by on-the-nose physical descriptions of most of the characters (i.e., a character’s height and weight followed by an exact description of what they were wearing) and I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting here.

Still, the story sounded good. Ex-pro baseball player Jake and his girlfriend, Nicole, get called in to investigate John Lindemann and his company, TLM (The Lindemann Method). The company bills itself as a method of self-help and financial advice. To Jake, it smells like a cult. The client is concerned because her daughter worked at the nearby lodge that housed TLM and went incommunicado a few weeks prior. After posing as potential clients, Jake and Nicole discover that not only does the financial aspect appear to be a Ponzi scheme, but the attractive young women who work there are encouraged to “entertain” the wealthy clients. As they dig deeper, more girls turn up “missing” and the darker the TLM scheme seems to run.

This started with in your face descriptions/backstory and never really picked up from there. I realize that’s a bit harsh; maybe I’m just not the target audience for this book. I definitely think this was written for a male reader because as hard as I tried, I could not connect with the MC. Most of the book is from Jake’s point of view; although, chapters veer off to other characters at the convenience of the story (a huge turn off for me). What didn’t I like about Jake? He seemed like an okay guy, but he had no drive, except to hang out on the beach, and the constant sexual innuendos between him and his girlfriend, who is treated as little more than eye candy despite having written a smash screenplay, got tiresome. Even though I think Nicole got short shrift (she probably would have made a better MC), her “being a sugar baby is fine and understandable” attitude didn’t sit well with me.

Why would I root for Nicole as the MC over Jake? Because when it came right down to it, Jake didn’t do anything. I’ve seen him described as the reluctant P.I., but that’s being kind. He’s not a private investigator. His father (Ray) is, his best friend (Pancake) is, and Nicole is part-time. Jake makes it extremely clear he wants nothing to do with the business and for most of the book, just goes where the wind blows him. Or where Nicole drags him. To my recollection, Jake didn’t really do anything except crack jokes, feed Pancake, and try to get Nicole into bed. In fact, they didn’t actually solve the case of the missing girl. Granted, Pancake did follow the financial trail but (and I’m not a lawyer) I think a lot of what Pancake did was illegal and most of the evidence he collected probably would have gotten thrown out at trial. Don’t get me started on Ray going Rambo with no repercussions (I might have missed a pertinent backstory to explain Ray’s connections).

While not a bad novel, it just wasn’t for me.

2.5/5 stars ⭐⭐+

Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for providing the ARC ebook. I’ve left my review honestly and voluntarily.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest entry in the Jake Longly series makes a six-pack for cardiologist-author D.P. Lyle. It starts innocently with whimsical humor but turns dark: “This is freaking evil on steroids.”

Clarice Wilkerson’s daughter, April, dropped off the radar a few weeks ago after becoming involved in Jonathon Lindemann’s self-help and enlightenment retreat called The Lindemann Method, with its $120,000 membership fee. TLM recruits wealthy people and promises enormous financial returns, sort of like that Bernie guy who made off with wealthy people’s money. Clarice won’t give April an advance on her lottery-like inheritance to pay TLM’s hefty fee, so April had been working there as a courtesan. Rhea Wilson, Lindemann’s second-in-command, says, “We need hostesses who are attractive and smart and can present a professional and cultured face.”

Tommy (Pancake) Jeffers “lumbered his six-five, 280-pound frame” over to Jake and Nicole sitting by the Gulf Shores, Alabama beach. Jake’s dad, Ray, is a no-nonsense private investigator. Pancake is his partner PI and cyber-wiz. “Each time I became entangled in Ray’s business, dangerous and chaotic situations popped up.”

Perhaps April quit communicating with her mom out of spite over the inheritance, but Clarice has hired Ray to investigate what she believes is April’s disappearance. He dispatches former pro-baseball pitcher Jake and famed Hollywood screenwriter Nicole to infiltrate Lindemann’s posh retreat, on the pretense of joining the group of wealthy people in an elite club that “will fix what ails you and make you rich.” The question begs: Why would wealthy people pay $120,000 to become rich? But this is America, where too much is never enough.

The celebrity couple is dazzled by TLM’s Vegas-like luxury suite, champagne and all. They meet the hostesses, all of whom speak highly of The Farm. Several of them allegedly have married wealthy guests and are living the good life. But they never return to get richer, as Lindemann purports. April was last seen voluntarily and alone taking a flight from Tallahassee to Tampa, where she attends parties at Andrew Heche’s home (“It’s more like a boutique hotel”) and cruises the Gulf on Andrew’s 85-foot luxury yacht, After Hours. Ah, the good life!

The dark side of CULTURED seems to tear a page from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s rap sheet.

Readers who can get past troubling events in this novel --- events that happen in real life --- will find it an enjoyable read. And perhaps become more aware of cults and those who consider people expendable “merchandise.”

Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for an advance copy of Cultured, the sixth novel to feature former baseball player turned bar-restaurant owner, Jake Longley, set in Alabama.

Jake and his girlfriend, Nicole, are drafted in to help his father, Ray, with a new case. Twenty-two year old April Wilkerson’s mother has not heard from her in over three weeks. April worked at Magnolia Farms, the headquarters of TLM, an upmarket investment club with steep fees and a rich clientele, run by financial guru, Jonathon Lindemann. Jake and Nicole are sent there as potential investors where they are greeted cordially and given a soft sell. Too much cordiality makes them wonder what is being hidden.

I enjoyed Cultured, which hides a dark subject matter behind a light, humorous tone. I did say, having read a previous novel, that I was one and done, but second chances are a thing so I decided to try again.

Jake Longley’s shtick is still tedious over the course of a novel, compromising mostly of how incompetent at life he is, now that his baseball career is over. Initially it’s light, bright and welcoming, but it never changes. Still, he brings a lightheartedness to a rather dark tale.

Given Jake’s approach it is obvious that the novel is designed for entertainment. Everything comes easily to them and there are few sticky moments, so it’s all about the plot and what’s behind April’s disappearance (more than I imagined). I found it interesting and it held my attention. The novel is mostly told from Jake’s point of view, but timely switches to others give the reader a hint that there are secrets to be revealed. They whetted my appetite for more and, boy, was I rewarded. The criminality was much more than I expected and far less pleasant than the tone would imply.

Cultured is not a profound read, but it’s entertaining.

[Charlene Roberson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

This is the 6th of 6 books so far in the Jake Longley series and I have not ready any of the previous ones, so I was not familiar with the characters or their various backstories. But enough detail is given that I didn't feel completely lost when reading this one.

Jake, a former MLB pitcher, is happily retired and owns a bar/restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama. But when his father, Ray, gets a call about a possibly missing young woman, he calls on Jake and his girlfriend, Nicole, to help him find her.. Jonathan Lindemann is the founder of TLM (The Lindemann Method), which is headquartered at Lindemann Farm, which is where April Wilkerson was working. Jake and Nicole visit the Farm, pretending to be interested in joining the group, and find that everything is not exactly as it seems. There are several attractive young women who work all over the place, with their main job being to make the guests comfortable - whatever they may require. The women themselves, are interested in meeting a rich man who will take care of them, even perhaps marry them, so everyone seems to get along well. But April was last seen in the company of one of the members, on his private yacht, and no one has seen or heard from her in over three weeks.

With help from his father's associate, nicknamed Pancake, the trio unearth a lot of rather unsavory practices going on at TLM, one of which could have led to April's disappearance.

This is a good read, rather light on substance and wordy on descriptions, but it held my interest enough to finish it and I will probably look for others in the series.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Cultured, former baseball player Jake joins an investigation into a girl that’s gone missing from The Farm, a wellness resort seemingly focused on self-improvement and financial success. Jake and his girlfriend Nicole go to the resort to get intel for Jake’s private investigator father, and while everything seems perfect from the outside they uncover a seedier inside.

I very much liked the tone of this book— it was similar vibes to tv shows like Psych, Monk, and Burn Notice. There was a lightness and humor that worked despite the seriousness of the investigations.

The plot of the investigations also held my interest and made it a quick read.

On the other hand, I didn’t really like how there were a few chapters where instead of getting Jake’s POV, we got the POV of other characters. It was jarring, especially without chapter titles to signal a change. It also really didn’t do anything to further the plot.

I also wasn’t a fan of some of the repetition of previous books in the series. It’s a stand alone, but there was way too much explanation of a prior case the characters embarked on that made it feel like you should have read the prior books even though it wasn’t needed to understand the plot.

Finally, while I liked the characters, they were a bit one dimensional and Jake’s interior monologue was often cringey.

It was a fun, quick read, but I’m not in a rush to read any more from the series.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cultured by D. P. Lyle is a recommended investigative mystery and the sixth novel in the Jake Longly detective series.

Jake and Nicole, are at his restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama, when his PI father, Ray, calls him into help with the investigation of a missing young woman. April Wilkerson has gone missing from Lindemann Farms, the resort built by financial guru Jonathon Lindemann, founder of The Lindemann Method (TLM). Lindemann recruits wealthy people to join his program, promising healthy returns on their investment. Ray needs Jake and Nicole to visit Lindemann Farms posing as potential investors. The goal is to see if TLM is a scam and look for the missing young woman.

You can read Cultured as a stand alone mystery. The writing is great, the pace is fast, and the investigation is interesting. Jake, Nicole, Ray and the always hungry Pancake are all here, working to uncover the truth. The banter between the characters can be lighthearted and quick, which is entertaining, but it can also turn serious when required. The subject matter is serious in this investigation. This is my giving Jake and Nicole another chance book as their suggestive banter between each other dampened my enjoyment of The OC. While it is still present here, it was less distracting in Cultured.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/0...

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

My, how Epsteinesque, how very similar to Madoff's financial scams, how end-stage capitalism and awful pedophile-adjacent this entry in the series is.

It's book six; I say start with any of the first three. I started with #3, Sunshine State; it was an easy lift to get the basic idea of the series at that point. By #5, The OC, things are a great deal darker and the humor won't read as well for a newbie.

This entry in the series is darker still, it's much more threatening and anxiety-inducing to be around people disappearing; the smooth, unctuous face of the organization is so offensively slick it's just horrible to read. As always, Jake has snark to spare, unleashing it on these dreadful lying sacks of shit.

As the deeply weird cultists try to smarm Jake and Nicole into believing they're the good guys, the hairpins keep falling. The dynamic duo are pretty experienced by now. They can smell rats from a closed car ten miles from the nest; what that talent gets then in this case is unhappy certainty of unpleasant things. The actual resolution is a gut punch. I does not come from a simple direct relationship to the set-up, though. It takes you through the weeds. It makes you think about people's deepest motivations, more often than not greed prominent among them.

I'd love to tell you I didn't think this actually happens. I can't.

[Toni Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jake Longly series Book# 6

Although I haven’t read the previous installments I had no trouble getting into this book. Mr. Lyle gives us little background but enough to get the drift and move on and enjoy his latest. “Cultured” rips a page right out of the famous Jeffrey Epstein saga and is freaky to no end.

Said in a mischievous tone we have a story that soon turns quite dark but is so interesting I stayed captive till the very end. It opens when April Wilkerson dropped off the radar after becoming involved in a self-help and enlightenment retreat TLM (The Lindemann Method) that recruits wealthy people and promises enormous financial returns. April is an attractive, smart and culture individual although she doesn’t have the $120,000 membership fee needed is willing to work as a hostess.....Now do I have to go any further.....

What a story the author spins on us. Of course I omitted a lot that is said in this novel to pique interest...don’t miss this. The writing is great and as the layers peel away...darker edges appear. Does TLM make money for his investors or is this just an expensive scam? The prose is stylish, smart and compelling all this is wrapped up in a clever plot filled with twists to surprise even the hard core mystery seeker. This is definitely a juicy mystery told with snapping dialogue and played by fun characters. Jake, a former Major league pitcher and reluctant P.I and his girlfriend, Nicole are the protagonists that saved the day finding April and all the girls that went missing...and put an end to TLM.

This story is fast-paced, slick and a page-turner I devoured in no time.

A copy of this book was provided by Oceanview Publishing for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

[William Bentrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cultured by D. P. Lyle
Jake Longly and super-hot Nicole are back with a new mystery. Jake’s enormous sidekick, Pancake, continues to stretch the bottom line of Jake’s restaurant with his apparent insatiability for food. A self-help financial whiz guru who seems to be too good to be true is the main protagonist. One of his acolytes, a comely young woman, has disappeared and Jake’s dad is hired to find her. Although Jake does not work for his dad, Nicole, and Pancake do and where they go he goes.
I enjoyed the book but not as much as the previous books. Nicole is a fast driver and Pancake is an insatiable eater, which has been established in previous books. Those two facts seemed to be overdone in this book. Over and over again it was mentioned how much Pancake eats and how fast Nicole drives. Perhaps a first-time reader would miss the redundancy but as a consistent reader. I just got tired of it.
I still think it is worth reading and it is entertaining. The trafficking part is certainly frightening.

[Randee Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how hard Jake Longly tries to avoid his father's private eye business, he keeps getting tangled up in investigations. This time Jake finds himself helping search for April Wilkerson. The young woman has gone missing from Lindemann Farms—a high end resort and investment program that feels more like a combination cult and brothel. Jake, along with his girlfriend, pose as potential investors in The Lindemann Method program and go undercover at the resort. Jake and Nicole quickly learn that not only is April the first young woman to go missing from Lindemann Farms under suspicious circumstances, but that Jonathan Lindemann is much more of a conman than he appears.

CULTURED is a great addition to the Jake Longly series. While it is the sixth in the series, it can be read as a standalone novel.

Much like Jake, CULTURED is a relaxed novel with a slow build. It's clear from the beginning that there is something seriously wrong at Lindemann Farms. The first half of the novel sets the scene and provides plenty of background information on Jonathan Lindemann and his program. Jake and Nicole pick up bits and pieces of crucial information as they interview Lindemann's followers and employees. Clues that there is something sinister going on beneath the surface are parceled out and help build the case. Jake's lackadaisical attitude can get a bit annoying, but his humor helps offset the serious subject matter. Overall, CULTURED is an intriguing read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I read in this series. Unlike many other series, I did not feel that I needed to read the previous books in the series to understand the story. For me this is a plus for this book. Furthermore, I found the detectives in the story were a likeable group of people. The book was pleasant reading.

However, I am giving this book only three stars because the author did not provide sufficient transitions in the mystery plot line. The investment club that is being investigated is shown initially as appealing to wealthy women who doing some of the investing. However, when the detectives go undercover and explore joining this club, it comes across right away as appealing to solely wealthy men. For me to find the plotline believable, there would have to be a secret subgroup to make the plotline believable.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for honest review.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a rather sedate private detective investigative novel. Jake, the main character, does not do any grand heroics nor get into any breath taking suspenseful situations. The plot mostly consists of Jake and his girlfriend going places, interviewing people and making slow but methodical progress on the case. I found it rather anticlimactic that the resolution to the missing person investigation happened without Jake being immediately involved or in any way having solved the case. I was surprised at the suspension of regular evidence gathering requirements law enforcement officials usually demand for prosecution.

This is a private investigative novel for readers who like an uneventful and methodical investigation with no heart pounding suspense. Potential readers should also not mind a resolution to the investigation that is a little beyond belief all around.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Lindeman method is a combination of self improvement and "brilliant" financial management. These activities are centered around the beautiful resort known as Lindeman Farms, where your every need is attended to by a staff of beautiful young women. Then April Wilkerson disapears.
Jake Longly and his crew are called in to find her: Ray is Jake's father, the head of a PI firm, and very cranky. Pancake is Ray's right hand man a tech wizard, assasin, competitive eater. Nicole is Jake's girlfriend, and accomplished screen writer, who is drop dead gorgeous and drives like she stole it (she's yet to meet the trooper who doesn't crumble to her undone button and hair flip). Jake is a retired pro baseball player, who owns successful restaurant on the gulf coast of Alabama and spends most of his time taking abuse from the other three.

[Louise Foerster · Rating 4 out of 5]

CULTURED by D.P. Lyle was my first encounter with smart, straight-talking Jake Longly and it will not be my last. From the first pages, I dropped into the charming, disarming voice of a former ball player who owns a bar, is in love with screenwriter and certifiable knockout Nicole and best friends with the aptly named Pancake. When Jake's private investigator father Ray puts Jake on the case of a cult with an unfortunate string of missing persons from its clutches, Jake and his closest are drawn into a bizarre world of smoke, mirrors, and danger. I especially enjoyed the spare prose, pitch perfect dialogue, and vivid settings. I'm looking forward to others in this entertaining series. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

[Shoshana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Jake Longly books by D P Lyle, and I was so glad to read this one. If you are new to this delightful detective series you will have no problem reading this as a standalone.

I am not going to give any spoilers, that is what the blurb is for. Once again Jake is roped into one of his father Ray's cases, and works with the gorgeous Nicole and his childhood friend Pancake. The witty dialogue is terrific, and the smoke and mirrors plot keeps the pages turning.

If you are looking for a hard-boiled detective story this is not the book for you. If you are in the mood for a truly enjoyable, rather light-hearted mystery with a swell narrative voice, pick up a copy of "Cultured." I loved this one as much as the earlier installments, and that is saying something. Five stars.

[Carolyn S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a lot of character development in this book, so if you haven't read any of the others in this series, you won't enjoy it as much. But I have. Read them all, that is. So I found this book very entertaining. And the reason was, a lot of it takes place in and near Fairhope, Alabama, a town where a good friend lived for several years. Not just any friend, but a friend who loves to write and describes people and places in great detail so I have become entranced with the area.
D.P. Lyle is a solid writer. He knows how to develop a plot. The only thing I found disconcerting about this book was the constant change from first person to third to whatever POV he needed to move the story along. It was a bit much.

[Verity W · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first in this series and part of my quest to find more lighter/fun thrillers - something to fill the Steph Plum/Carl Hiassen type niche.

This had all the elements to do that in the blurb and in theory but the execution just didn’t work for me. There’s something off in the pacing and plotting that means that if just doesn’t flow right and the switches of POV are inconsistent and jarring. Plus Jake doesn’t really have a lot going for him as a main character - he’s not that bright and doesn’t seem to do that much - everyone else is doing the hard work for him and that contributes to the weirdness in pacing and a lack of a sense of peril. Not for me sadly.

*****copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review (no matter now belated!*****

[Howard Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cultured relates the story of a mother who has not heard from her daughter for a period of three weeks and hires a private detective to locate her. Along the way, the reader is confronted with descriptions of how the wealthy live, a Madoff type Ponzi scheme, “dating” apps online, prostitution and several other topics. The novel is written in a manner which keeps the reader constantly turning pages to see what happens next. The writing is infused with humor and easily holds the reader’s attention span.
This novel is recommended for readers who enjoy this genre and I thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake, Nicole, and Pancake find more than when they agree to help Jake's dad, who has been hired to find April, a young woman who worked for Jonathon Lindemann, a financial guru of sorts. This latest in the series sees the trio uncover a dark secret- and that other women have also disappeared. Fans know that this will have humor as well as a little danger. Some of the schtick is getting old (I've read all of the novels) but Lyle does his best to keep things topical. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. Will be fine as a standalone.

[Daphne Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retired professional athlete Jake Longly uncovers shady business when he and his girlfriend go undercover. Jonathon Lindemann offers a great return on your investment, as long as you don’t look too close. Which is what Jake and Nicole discover on their visit to his retreat hidden in plain sight. Jake would rather stay put but a request to find a missing girl puts these two in the thick of an operation whose owners will stop at nothing to secure. It has just enough steam to fog the windows but not so much you can’t see out, or in this case to the end.

[Jeff Benham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray and Pancake have been hired to find a girl that worked at a "cult" and has gone missing. Naturally, Nicole wants to help and Jake is an unwilling participant. You just never know when someone needs a baseball thrown at them. This is a cult for multi, multi millionaires and involves lots to gorgeous women. Everything looks fine and it looks like the girls are there of their own free will. All is not as it seems and this is not the first girl that has gone missing. If you have enjoyed the previous Jake Longly books, you will definitely like this one as well.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicole and Jake are going undercover at Jonathan Lindeman's complex. This is a case that Jake's father "took on". A 'missing' girl even though she is 22years old. But did she leave Lindemann Farms on her own or has something else happened to her? Who is this Lindemann? Is he a con artist or does he really run a legitimate business? Nicole and Jake are about to find out. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

[K-BRC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever Jake and Nicole get together with their bff Tommy Jeffers (Pancake), there’s plenty of chuckles to help the reader through any darkness or evil in the investigation. Be it murder, kidnapping, sex trafficking, financial crimes, gaslighting, or a combination of the above, Nicole will outthink them as Pancake bulldozes his way through the bad guys with an occasional assist from Jake’s dad, Ray, ex-military black-ops tough guy. Always a winning team I’d back, any time. 5 big stars!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

I read this book unaware that it was part of a series. While I found that it could be read as a stand-alone, I also felt at the same time, the previous books would need also to be read, to get a better feel and understanding of the characters Jake and Nichole.

Despite this, I still enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would, and just from reading this, am very interested in reading more of Lyle's books.

[Patricia Gussin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like a generous dose of humor in your crime thriller, reluctant PI Jake Longly and his entourage of sidekicks including the gorgeous and very smart Nicole Jamison is the choice for you. Dogged investigators, Deep-South atmospheric, deadly criminals all conspire to make this a very fast paced, but still fun page turner.