Excellent first book in the Andrew Hunter series. Andrew, a Private Investigator and his somewhat unorthodox assistant Jenny, look into the disappearance of Nicholas who vanishes the night of his 18th birthday. The author's descriptions are fabulous and places and people come alive. There are other "cases" Andrew and Jenny are involved in. This author is highly entertaining and easy to read. Looking forward to the next book in this series. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

4 stars

Private Detective Andrew Hunter has a new partner of six months or so called Jenny. She is outrageous, outspoken, a whiz at technology and basically a hoot – at least to this reader.

They’re trailing a man named Stewart Deacon whose wife suspects him of cheating on her. He is driving a year old car and is good at running red lights. When they go to his wife’s home to report their findings, in bursts Jack their teenage son. He is very angry, gets into Andrew’s face and shakes his finger at him, threatening him. After leaving the house Andrew’s car suddenly bursts into fire. Jack is the chief suspect.

Richard Carr comes into the office asking for help looking for his eighteen-year old son Nicholas who has been missing for eight months. He went missing after a party and never made it home. Three of his fingers were found in the woods, but no trace of his body has ever been located. Going to their home the next day, Andrew and Jenny interview both parents, Richard and Elaine. They search his room and find out that Nicholas had an interest in “real” magic. His girlfriend, Lara, was apparently the driving force behind this. She is a Goth and they fought all the time, but she says she loves him. She was the one that reported him missing not his parents.

They discover a lead about Kristian Verity who is a self-styled wizard. They go to his last known address which is vacant and the estate agent says no one has seen him for months. They do a nighttime raid of the storage locker and discover some interesting stuff. Jenny and Andrew begin to make connections. They learn Lara’s real name and it leads Jenny on an interesting internet search.

So far Nicholas and two other men have disappeared, as did Lara’s father’s eighteen-year old brother some thirty-six years earlier.

In a tense and drama-filled conclusion (which was a little anticlimactic), all things get sorted out.

I really liked the understated humor in this book. Andrew’s observations, his comments to himself and the easy banter between him and Jenny were the source of many chuckles. I especially liked the interaction between Andrew and Jenny. She is truly a unique person. The book is well written and plotted. Except for the ending, this was a very good book. I truly enjoyed it and look very much forward to reading more of Mr. Wilkinson’s Andrew Hunter novels.

I want to thank NretGalley and Bookouture for forwarding to me a copy of this exciting book for me to read, enjoy and review.