One Got Away

February 15, 2021
In the follow-up to Save Me From Dangerous Men (2019), bookseller/private detective Nikki Griffin lands in hot water when she takes on a wealthy new client. Business is booming at Brimstone Magpie, Nikki's Berkeley bookstore, and she's found contentment with her English professor boyfriend, Ethan, who wants her to move in with him. Contentment doesn't quite suit Nikki, however, so she's raring to go when she scores new client Martin Johannessen, who happens to come from one of San Francisco's wealthiest families. Martin says his octogenarian mother has been blackmailed by the charming and much younger Geoffrey Coombs, a suspected con man. Coombs' trail leads Nikki to a ritzy Monterey hotel, and despite herself, Nikki finds herself attracted to the handsome, smooth-mannered psychologist, who seems to see her for who she really is: a woman who loves being on the edge of danger. Nikki's scenes with Coombs, chock full of snappy dialogue, are right out of a black-and-white noir, but, unfortunately, their time together culminates in his abduction by some very bad men who threaten to fit him with concrete shoes. Coombs may have been up to something nefarious, but allowing him to be killed by these guys is not in Nikki's playbook, and after Martin terminates her contract, she's hired by his mother, Marie, who is most definitely not helpless or a victim. Marie wants Nikki to save Coombs, and it will undoubtedly be dangerous, but Nikki has friends in high and low places who are always eager to help. She even gets a boost from Mason, an inquisitive 12-year-old she meets by chance. Nikki has a moral imperative to mete out justice that is fueled by childhood tragedy. Those who dare to underestimate her are in for a nasty surprise, and she's not afraid to use a little violence to help those who can't help themselves. The nearly fearless and deeply empathetic Nikki is ridiculously easy to root for, and the pace is fast and furious all the way to a deeply satisfying finale. A smashing sequel. More please.

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March 1, 2021
Lelchuk's Save Me from Dangerous Men (2019) introduced Nikki Griffin, a bookstore owner who's also a private detective--one who turns the tables on abusers. In this second book in the series, Griffin turns to glamour as a disguise when she's hired to expose a possible con man who is in a relationship with a wealthy elderly woman. But when the con man himself becomes a victim, Griffin's grittier skills are brought into play as she fights her way through San Francisco's criminal underbelly. A minor plotline involves a child sidekick who's too young to be credible in the role, but otherwise fans of the first book or of hard-boiled women detectives in general will relish this heroine's latest outing, especially given that Lelchuk's writing is more nuanced and atmospheric than that found in hard-boiled mysteries of old. Those who followed the grisly antics of TV's Dexter are another audience, though Griffin's work is happily less gory than Dexter's. A fine choice for mystery collections.

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