Scarlet Fever was an interesting read. This is the first reading reading a book from this author and I was pleasantly pleased with the storyline and characters.

Thanks to the author David Stever and TCK Publishing, for the free advance ARC copy for my honest review. It was the late author Bill Crider, with his 'Outrage at Blanco' novel that made me love revenge stories so much and in away revenge stories for me will always be a tribute to him.

This was my first read from the author David Stever, he just sucks you into a time warp, puts you into the pages of an old style gangster noir read, with vivid characters, good or bad you'll like them and set in the present day. Totally enjoyed 'Scarlet Fever', it's my favorite read of the year so far.

Don't want to give too much away! I feel like the author, wrote it to read like a movie, he let's his characters tell the story in 'Scarlet Fever'. With Johnny Delarosa PI, his partner Mike McNally, both retired Police Officers, the tie in with the PCPD, how they call in favorites, mix in old gangster cigar smoking brothers Tony and Sammy Scarazzini, thought they make the story that much better, Johnny's office being the back corner booth in McNally's Irish Pub, which he co-own's with Mike, then add Claire Dixon to the mix and Johnny's new hired assistant Katie Pitts.

You end up with a surprise at the end or I thought it was and itmade 'Scarlet Fever' all that much better for me. Would recommend this book for anyone to read, most definitely will keep eagerly reading author David Stever's books and hope he has a bunch of 'Johnny Delarosa books forthcoming.

This is an entertaining, well-written and fast paced book which I read in an evening and in addition I liked the PI and his sidekicks.

Scarlet Fever: A Crime Thriller
by David Stever (Goodreads Author)

Kindle Edition, 246 pages
Published March 5th 2019 by TCK Publishing


Goodreads synopsis:

He’s a hard-drinking ex-cop with nothing to prove. She’s a gorgeous mystery woman with everything to lose. 

She needs his help. He just needs HER. 

The mobsters won’t know what hit them. 

Private investigator Johnny Delarosa’s seen it all. Cheating spouses, greedy embezzlers, insurance scammers—it’s all part of the game to him. But when a drop-dead gorgeous redheaded mystery woman walks into his bar and drops a $20,000 retainer in his lap, he knows he’s met his match. 

Claire Dixon wants the hard-drinking Johnny to find $2 million that was stolen from her mob-wife mother thirty years ago, but the money is only half the mystery. When every lowlife in Port City suddenly comes out of the woodwork to claim their share of the take, suddenly Claire’s nowhere to be found—and the body count starts to climb. 

With the help of a bright young amateur sleuth, can Johnny crack the case before the streets of his beloved Port City run scarlet? 

With a wink and a nod to the hard-boiled detective fiction of yesteryear, David Stever offers up a heaping helping of old-school noir sure to satisfy every thriller lover, even genre purists. Scarlet Fever is the first book in the Johnny Delarosa Mysteries. 

Fans of Sunburn by Laura Lippman, Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, and The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler are sure to love this book. 

This book is for anyone who likes reading about: 
Crime fiction 
Hard-boiled detectives 
Femme fatales 
Gangsters and mob bosses 
Mysteries and thrillers 


***

4 stars

This book does remind me of a modern day version of 1930’s classic detective fiction. There was the red-headed Veronica Lake-esque sexy lady who comes into the one-time detective turned PI’s office and makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Help her find her missing two million. Of course the mob is involved and he can’t really trust her to do what he says or to try and keep herself safe. I mean, that is totally the way the story goes.

But Johnny, even though he lives in the 21st century, is not a master of the technological aspects of it. Then in walks his savior…. a blond bombshell in the image of what I image is Jean Harlow. She is sweet, naive master PI in the making. And what she lacks with her innocent facade, she makes up for in computer expertise.

This story was a really fun ride and I invite everyone to take a gander at it. It is Detective Fiction of Yesteryear made new.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

An extremely well written "private dick" novel in a traditional style, but with modern gadgets. Very interesting characters and plot.

Pulp fiction at its best takes the reader back to the days of the old-time hard-boiled PI’s, gorgeous “dames”, the mob, and more. Noir readers will applaud.