Jason Wilder is about to close up shop on the Midnight Investigations Agency owned by his mother, Victoria, when Elijah Messenger rings the bell. He’s got quite a story to tell: someone is going to kill him and he needs the agency’s help. Even though it’s against company policy set down by Majesty Queen Victoria, he politely declines thinking this guy is a whack job. The next day, Jason finds out the old guy may not have been crazy after all when he turns up dead with a ceremonial pagan knife stuck in his chest.

Yep. Jason is in trouble, but not nearly enough when the mayor shows up in his mother’s office. His wild daughter, Anna, is hip deep in Elijah’s cult and wants her brought home. Jason lands the case and it seems easy enough…until she’s wanted for the murder of Elijah Messenger, and an explicit video of Anna starring in a blood ritual happens to surface at the mayor’s office. And her fingerprint is on the knife. As Jason delves deeper into the case, it turns out the living -- and the dead -- have quite a few secrets to hide.

Every now and then I run across a smart, glib, inventive detective that grabs my attention from the first page. Jason Wilder is just such a character. He’s a refreshing change from the hard-assed gumshoes fighting off the Mob or drug dealers or the crime syndicate du jour. With a crew of retired cops filling out the cast -- smart, glib, and inventive themselves -- and a mother with a loving yet imperious streak, this mystery really pulls itself together seamlessly into a humorous adventure with just the right amount of danger and light romance with a former client.

This has the hallmarks of a well-rounded, clever series. I’ll be watching this author, and hunting down the debut the first chance I get.

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Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (December 12, 2006)
ISBN: 0312361920
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