Fate, Robert – BABY SHARK’S BEAUMONT BLUES

[LJ Roberts]

BABY SHARK’S BEAUMONT BLUES (PI, Texas, 1950s) –VG+
Fate, Robert – 2^nd in series
Capital Crime Press, 2007, Trade Paperback – ISBN 13: 9780977627622

Kristin Van Dijk has been a PI and partner with Otis Millett for almost two years now. They are hired to return a runaway heiress as it is critical she reach her 18^th birthday and be present at the reading of her father’s will. They have rescued the heiress before, but this time it turns bad and Kristin ends up with two dead gangsters, the heiress, and the bag full of ransom money. And that’s only the beginning as Kristin and Otis try to figure out what is really going on while keeping the heiress safe, although she disappears on them again, and themselves alive.

For me, this was a much better book than the first. The story had more balance to it, even with a higher body count than the first. But here, they are working with the law—at least as much as it is possible for them to do. The partnership of Otis and Kristin is wonderfully done and it’s interesting to see Kristin’s character develop through the story. Seeing men be dismissive of Kristin and, therefore, underestimate her, is an interesting reflection of that time. There is a secondary story of Virginia which dimension to the story. The sense of place is effective and the dialogue even more so. There are scenes of palpable suspense but it is balanced within the story, and a wonderful ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am very glad I was persuaded to give it a chance.