True Grime: A Drake Manning Mystery (Drake Manning, P.I. Book 1)
About
This short story is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Drake Manning, P.I. Manning’s best friend, Duke, a New York City cop, is murdered. Manning has to find out by whom and why in this wry take on the noirish, hard-boiled detective. Cover design by Jonathan Spiliotopoulos. Photo by Chris Hutchinson, aka LCBO, on stock.xchng . Inspiration by Joe “Joey C-Note” Campolieta.
Praise for this book
This story took ahold of my attention early and wouldn’t let me go until I finished it. I needed to solve this cad just as bad as Drake did! I was in love with the detail from this hardened PI’s point of view and I definitely need to know all the benefits of the prune danish but he never finished lol. Would love more to read by the author and about Drake Manning!
This was a fun read. At first, I was mostly amused by the joke-filled writing and tips of the hat to film noir and Raymond Chandler. But then I found myself genuinely curious about whodunnit—which is the mark of a good mystery. Amusing writing, compelling plot…what more could you ask for? A sequel.
While this is a cleverly written mystery whose lead character is a classic, down-on-his-luck gumshoe - Drake Manning - this can also be referenced as a primer on hyperbolic metaphors for the genre. Mark Nelson O'Brien serves these up faster than a coalition of cheetahs on methamphetamines chasing a herd of gazelles. I found my self constantly chuckling and sometimes guffawing at his skillful deployment of the literary device. A fun read!