Review by sybil1reader -- Deadly Secrets

[sybil1reader]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Deadly Secrets" by Robert Boris Riskin.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Let me introduce you to Jake Wanderman, a retired school teacher who yearns to become a private detective. The only problem is that he has absolutely no desire to go to school and then work under a licensed investigator for three years. Deadly Secrets is the third book featuring Jake; the first two being Scrambled Eggs and Deadly Bones. Someone always wants Jake to solve a mystery for them, usually involving a murder, and this time it is his lifelong friend Morty Alder. Morty’s daughter, Sarajane is in trouble and he trusts that Jake is the man to help her. The drama plays out in New York, London, and Paris and is a work of crime fiction that will have you perched on the edge of your seat. Jake manages to uncover secrets while at the same time falling in love and barely managing to stay alive. Murder, drugs, lies, lesbians, rape, and someone with a secret identity make this an adventure well worth the time that it takes to read.

Sarajane, an artist, meets her father for the first time at her opening sponsored by the Valerie Venable gallery. Jake tags along for moral support and the all night event is a success. The food is excellent, provided by Tony Oakhurst, a very prestigious chef. It seems that the owner of the gallery specifically sought him out for this event. The champagne is plentiful and the who’s who of the art world is in attendance. The Food Channel prepares to interview Sarajane and Tony but Sarajane ends up on the floor in a dead faint. Only Jake knows that there is more to this situation than meets the eye, and early the next morning he receives a frantic call from Morty. Someone is dead on the kitchen floor of the gallery and the police peg Sarajane as one of the prime suspects. What really caused her to faint, and is this beautiful young lady capable of murder? Morty wants Jake to prove her innocence and Jake reluctantly agrees only because of their history as best friends.

Follow Jake as he travels to London and Paris to follow leads that eventually uncover clues. It seems that a lot of people have secrets and apparently someone does not mind killing Jake to keep them hidden. Before long he connects the dots between the murder in the gallery and the friends that shared a time of partying with Sarajane during their college days. Could rapes that occurred back then be the cause of current events? In an effort to clear Sarajane, Jake is beaten by a girl; run down by a car while riding his bike; and even stabbed in an alley. Every time he turns around someone new is after his head! The average person would have thrown in the towel by now, but Jake intends to help his best friend’s daughter at all costs. Of course, there is a part of him that thrives on the mystery and danger as well, so he is totally in his element.

It is well known that police departments exclude civilians from investigations, but in this case they have no firm leads. Jake runs some of the information by Sienna Nolan, a detective that he worked with on a prior case, and she is able to help him out without the department finding out about it. He has an alternative motive in contacting Sienna; however, because he feels something for her that is not professional. They do have history and he wants to pursue it further, but just when he realizes that his feelings for her may be love, she blindsides him with some news that he never saw coming. Putting personal feelings aside, he enlists her help when he needs the department to back him up once he figures out the identity of the murderer. It was a close call, but the culprit receives justice, Sarajane’s life is back to normal, and Morty is more than satisfied with the way Jake solved the case.

I really like Jake’s character. He is not a legal investigator but he does not let a little thing like a license stop him from tracking down the bad guys. He quotes Shakespeare during all kinds of situations and sometimes is right on point while at other times not so much. I admire his willingness to help others at the risk of his own safety and I wish that he would go ahead and do it legally. As a matter of fact, his wife encouraged him to do so before she suddenly died in a previous book. I enjoyed the first two books in the series just as I enjoyed this one and I believe that anyone who likes crime fiction with a little romance thrown in will enjoy them as well. I give this book a four out of four because it held by interest and the author was able to throw in so many different real life situations. I look forward to Jake’s next adventure, and especially to him finding a special lady!

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Deadly Secrets
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[Arushi Singh]

Thank you for writing this. It is really helpful.