UNBALANCED (Jake Longly #7) by D.P. Lyle will be released on Aug 06 2024 by Oceanview Publishing.
Jake and Nicole are just supposed to be picking up some paperwork from a local realtor’s office for one of Ray’s private investigation cases. The simple task turns into a major problem when they wind up finding the dead body of Ray’s client—and the man has clearly been murdered. Despite his obvious reluctance to get involved in his dad’s business, Jake winds up working with Ray, Nicole, and Pancake to help the police figure out who killed their client. The realtor hired Ray because suspected that his business partner was stealing from the company. They’re easily able to prove that Ray’s client was right was right. Determining who killed him is the hard part.
UNBALANCED is a fun addition to the series, but I felt that the killer was too predictable. That being said, the crew was throughout with their investigation. Their involvement in the actual police investigation drove the plot forward. It was also nice to see Pancake get some more backstory and character development in this book. He’s always been a solid character, but he finally got some of his own story. As always, Nicole is my favorite character. And the frequent annoying interruptions from Jake’s ex-wife are always a delight. The majority of the novel is told from Jake’s first person perspective, but there are sections that are from other character’s third person point of view.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.