PLOT OR PREMISE
Devlin Tracy is a claims investigator working for an insurance company. The VP gives him a case to investigate — a friend of the President of the company is in a sanatorium, and one of the other patients changed their beneficiary on their insurance policy before they died, and the doctor at the sanatorium got the winfall. The President is afraid for his friend, that he’ll be pressured to do the same, and wants Trace to make sure there’s nothing weird going on.
WHAT I LIKED
Warren Murphy was also creator of several other series, and while some of those were kind of pulp-style, this one is a full “standard” novel. Wise-cracking, determined, but not always the fastest to figure things out. Trace works hard, keeps poking until something shakes loose, and then grabs on and won’t let go until whatever scheme falls apart. All the elements of the series are here — drinking like a fish, sleeping with suspects, wearing a little frog pin that records conversations, and a bit of a blundering style that worms his way into lots of situations. There are sub-stories with drugs and potential lawsuits, but mostly it is just about Trace shaking things up.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
He has a girlfriend, of sorts, and her portrayal in this one is more annoying than usual for the series. Plus she comes in near the end as a super-detective to help solve the case, but Trace was doing fine on his own. She helps him out, as she often does, but she was mostly superfluous for this outing.
THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET
Great intro to a great series
MY RATING
Original: January 14, 2017
Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent
DISCLOSURE
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor did I follow him on social media.
PUBLICATION
- Year of Release: 1981 (PB), 2013 (E)
- Publisher: Signet (PB), Gere Donovan Press (E)
- ISBN/ASIN: 978-1628580051 (ISBN), B00E50OKNO (ASIN)
- Series: Trace (1)
| Internet Links |
||||
| Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters | Kobo | Barnes & Noble |
| Nook | Google Play Books | Good Reads | Library Thing | |
| Book Review Index | ||||
| Intro Approach Review # Title Author Year Series Rating | ||||
