Staff Picks Category: Private eyes

Dead West by Matt Goldman [Book]

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Nils Shapiro appears in his fourth mystery, this time taking his private investigation skills to Los Angeles when Ebben Mayer’s grandmother Beverly asks Nils to check up on her grandson and make certain he’s not squandering his fortune. Nils agrees, thinking a short trip to sunny southern California to solve a nonproblem is just what he needs to break up a Minnesota January. He takes his friend Jameson White along as muscle, and to get him out of the dark winter and his own troubles. When they arrive, Nils suspects foul play in the recent death of Ebben’s fiancée and can’t help but follow his instincts into an investigation far more complex than his original assignment. It seems everyone involved–Hollywood industry players on several levels–is potentially in danger, and looking out for their own interests. Meanwhile, Jameson’s attentions are divided between protecting Ebben (and Nils) and dealing with his own issues, and Nils worries he may be losing his edge as a happily affianced new father, avoiding risks he would have otherwise taken in past cases.

Goldman continues to please with interesting twists, great peripheral characters, insights into specific communities, and enough peril to keep readers turning pages past bedtime. Offer this to fans of lone wolves finding their pack, readers who love LA settings, and private investigators both amateur and professional.

Broken Ice by Matt Goldman [Book]

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Private detective Nils Shapiro is back! Fans of Goldman’s Gone To Dust (2017) will not be disappointed. Some time has passed since the last book; Nils’s buddy Ellegard has joined him as a private investigator and taken over the business end of operations. Nils and Ellie are called in to look for a missing teen who never returned from a high school championship hockey game. When the teen’s friend is also found dead, the case intensifies, not least because Nils is near-fatally shot with an arrow at the crime scene. The action moves from Minneapolis to small-town Warroad and back again as Nils and Ellie uncover more secrets than suspects. Like all good private eyes, they nominally cooperate with law enforcement officials while pursuing avenues of discovery unavailable to official channels. Nils continues to be brilliant and flawed, Ellie his eminently practical foil, and Minneapolis itself a major character. A darkness in the story not immediately evident to the reader or principals lends weight to the reading experience. In the midst of a compelling mystery, Goldman gradually introduces vivid supporting characters, such as medical examiner Char Northagen, with a finesse built on his background in stand-up and television writing, promising a long and enjoyable series. Recommended for fans of clever mysteries and witty detectives such as Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone.