Dan Kearny Associates is a private investigation firm in San Francisco. PI Bart Heslip has been charged with locating cars that need to be repossessed. Following a long hard day, he's headed back to the office to finish up the paperwork.

The next morning, Bart is found in a repossessed car that ran off the road. There's the odor of alcohol emanating from his shirt. He is rushed to the hospital, where the doctors are concerned that he may never wake up. The cops are listing this as a one-car accident.

Bart's colleagues and friends aren't buying this. For one, Bart would absolutely never drive a car that's been brought in. Two .. he only drinks a certain alcoholic beverage and then, only rarely. Three .. his head has been beaten in ... accident or not?

His fellow investigators start looking though all Bart's cases to discover who may have done this. There are plenty of suspects .. most of whom don't like Bart.

I've just learned more about repossessing cars than I ever thought possible. It's certainly not a job I would like. People can get very angry when someone tries to take their cars. There are plenty of cases to look at ... plenty of varying motives ... One by one, the cases are cleared until there are only two possible left.

There is constant movement which is nicely paced. More mysterious than suspenseful, this page turner kept me riveted and trying to pull a Perry Mason and identify whodunit.

DEAD SKIP was originally published in 1972, so all the modern means of detection are missing.... no cell phones, no DNA data bases, etc. Fair warning --- text contains some racial and cultural references of the era which may be offensive to some.

Many thanks to Dover Publications / Netgalley. I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

3.5 stars