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Paul Buchanan’s Valley of Shadows is an excellent follow-up to last year’s City of Angels. In fact, might I suggest it surpasses the first book?
In case you missed the first book in the PI John Keegan series, you can find my review of City of Fallen Angels here. While you can easily enough read Valley of Shadows without having read the first book, it would be very useful to read the series chronologically since we find Keegan at the beginning of Valley of Shadows haunted by the outcome of the previous case.
Book Description for Valley of Shadows
Haunted by the events of his past, Private Investigator Jim Keegan reluctantly gets back to work and takes on a new client. Ida Fletcher is a reclusive millionaire, but all Jim has to do is keep her important papers safe and check on her LA properties.
A week later, Ida’s estranged nephew turns up unannounced.
Two days later, Ida is missing.
What started as a simple job, has turned into an investigation of murder, lies, and deceit.
Keegan moves quickly, desperate to find Ida and return to his quiet life, but no one is safe, and appearances can be deceiving…
About the Author, Paul Buchanan
Why You Should Read Valley of Shadows
Fans of noir crime fiction and detective tales will really enjoy Valley of Shadows. As I mentioned earlier, this book even far surpasses the first book because in my humble opinion this book’s pace is much quicker and the story is much wittier.
This tale takes a supernatural twist with an eccentric cast of supporting characters including Jim Keegan’s terrier Nora [from the first book] who seems to have a connection with paranormal visitors, the psychic Madame Lena hovering over her tarot cards, the superstitious and meddling secretary Mrs. Dodds [from the first book], a potential romantic interest for Keegan, the LAPD Luietenant who is at odds with Jim after the previous affair, the reclusive millionaire client Ida Fletcher, her factotum, Frank the boxer, her companion Midred Zinnia, and the woman’s suspicious nephew Daniel Church.
Fans of old Hollywood will also enjoy Paul Buchanan’s choice to give Chateau Marmont a supporting role in Valley of Shadows where celebrities and the insanely rich go to disappear and be invisible.
With a clever sense of humor, Paul Buchanan has put together a solid mystery that is engrossing, entertaining, and engaging. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed!
Similar to City of Fallen Angels, this book is relatively clean and will be an appropriate summer fare for any teenage or adult reader to enjoy.
My thanks to Lucy Chamberlain at Legend Press for the advanced reader copy of Valley of Shadows.
Where to Find Valley of Shadow
Valley of Shadow is currently available on digital platforms such as Kindle.
Valley of Shadow is currently available to read in paperback in the United Kingdom.
Valley of Shadow will be available to read in paperback in the United States starting November 1, 2021.
Publisher: Legend Press
More Books to Read
- Moscow Mules and Murder (2021): A Short and Sweet Romantic Cozy Mystery
- Mitch Rapp is Back! LETHAL AGENT Spoiler-Free Book Review
- Book Review: When Mockingbirds Sing
- City of Fallen Angels by Paul Buchanan (2020); Great Introduction to PI John Keegan Series
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