A favor for a friend puts San Diego private investigator Brig Ellis in contact with a real knockout. But the first time they meet, the specter of larceny hangs in the air like the stale scent of a cheap cigar. Before Ellis can decide to make a pass or make tracks, thugs turn his office into a veritable junk yard. He should try to find out why, but when money calls, he listens, and so he puts payback on hold.
$16.99 – $26.99
Hired by the black sheep of a dysfunctional dynasty, he agrees to retrieve the clan’s daughter from apparent involvement with Zapatista rebels in Mexico. A tale of two cities then ensues laden with hidden agendas, revelations, recriminations, mayhem, murder, and a violent conflict on the eight-thousand-foot cliffs of the Copper Canyon Railway. Before all the loose ends have been tied, Ellis is left to wonder if making friends, doing favors, unmasking foes, or extracting vulnerable heiresses are all, in one way or another, fools’ errands.
PI Ellis had all the warning signs. He chose to ignore them. Of course, it could just be chance. Right. A man needs help with his sister. Turns out that she hasn’t been entirely straight with her brother. And that sums up where Ellis is at. Can’t anyone give him some straight answers? Still, life isn’t all bad. Ellis isn’t starved of company. Ellis is a pleasingly complex character. Suspicious, cynical, yet fiercely loyal and brutal when the situation requires it. The story sees Ellis going more than the extra mile to earn his keep but there’s a parallel story tracking quietly in the background. I very much enjoyed the locations used and the Mexican history elements were smoothly incorporated and fascinating. Plenty of action, humour and some killer lines. I hope Ellis fronts up to another case shortly.