annieb123's Review of Trouble in Mind (Sam Kelson Mystery, #1)

by Michael Wiley

Introducing maverick Chicago private investigator Sam Kelson in the first of a hardhitting new crime noir series.

Sam Kelson is a PI like no other. As a consequence of being shot in the head while working undercover as a Chicago cop, he suffers from disinhibition: he cannot keep silent or tell lies when questioned. But truth be told - and Kelson always tells the truth - he still feels compelled to investigate and, despite the odds, he's good at his job.

Hired by Trina Felbanks to investigate her pharmacist brother, whom she suspects is dealing drugs, Kelson arrives at Felbanks' home to make a shocking discovery. Arrested on suspicion of murder, he makes an even more startling discovery concerning his client's identity. Kelson would appear to have been set up ... but by whom, and why?

As events spiral out of control and the body count rises, Kelson realizes he's made a dangerously powerful enemy. Will he survive long enough to discover who has targeted him - and what it is they want?

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Trouble in Mind is the promising first book in a new series by Michael Wiley. Due out 7th Jan 2020 from Severn House, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (ebook available now).

This is a nice PI procedural with an appealing protagonist who is a good investigator despite a traumatic brain injury which left him missing a significant portion of his brain and disinhibition, so he always blurts out what's on his mind and is incapable of filtering or lying. This unsurprisingly causes him a lot of problems. There's a lot of humor here and not all dark or ironic. His relationship with his 11 year old daughter is priceless and sweet (she enjoys quizzing him about ALL kinds of things because she knows precisely what his brain injury did to his ability to obfuscate).

There is a fair amount of rough language and mature themes (used in context). There is a fair bit of violence and murder, as expected, but the descriptions aren't overly graphic.

In some ways, the book reminded me in a good way of one of my favorite series, Lansdale's Hap & Leonard, in its over-the-top violence and maverick good guy against the forces of nastiness as well as wonky, lolloping humor. I love love love his daughter. I'm looking forward to more in this series.

Five stars. Highly recommended.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Trouble in Mind (Sam Kelson Mystery, #1)

by Michael Wiley

Reviewed by annieb123 on Jan 5, 2020

Reading updates