We last left Ed Runyan in quasi-rural Ohio about an hour north of Columbus. He'd bailed on being an NYC detective because of some child abduction case that sent him into a drunken tailspin and headed back to his home state of Ohio. Became a detective in the fictitious Mifflin County and the equally fictitious Ambletown.

His first real case is that of a raped/murdered girl by the local football star destined to enroll in The Ohio State University (points to Gobel for capitalizing 'The.' Hey, it's part of the formal name . . . sez me, the OSU alum). Anyway, the town (and plenty of the cops) really haven't forgive Ed for derailing the kid's career. Tough shit, pal. He killed a girl. This story begins shortly after, right as the pandemic is sneaking out of China.

So Ed quits the sheriff's office and decides to start his own PI agency specializing in runaways. Not getting as much business as he'd get in Columbus or Cleveland, but ditching the big city to live in a lakeside trailer is his preference.

Gets a hit on his website. 15yo Jimmy Zachman is missing. His parents are desperate to find him and are sure the local cops are yanking his chain - just another teenage runaway. Dad is a religious zealot with special hatred for the LGBTQ+ community (that's a clue to the story for you armchair detectives). Dad's even got a blog that says so in no uncertain terms. Mom is deeply religious but not to the same extent.

Jimmy's main interest is chess. In a local chess club at his school. One member of the club tells Runyan Jimmy also plays online. A lot. At this one site mostly. So Runyan opens an account, plays terribly with a bunch of other players to establish himself until he scores with this other kid who, by looking at chats, is about as good a friend to Jimmy as one can get online. Luckily the kid lives in Columbus, So Runyan heads to town, enlists a Columbus detective he knows and manages to track down the kid's address.

When he gets there, he hears music but no answer to his knocking. Tries the doorknob. Open. So Runyan slyly enters . . . to find a very recently killed adult still holding a pistol. As he checks out the murder scene, the perp comes tearing down the stairs. Both are caught unaware. Runyan, who's not carrying, dives for the corpse's gun. Shots are exchanged. Runyan gets a pretty healthy graze across his shoulder but the perp is shot dead.

Runyan gives chase after the boys, but doesn't get far due to blood loss. Ends up in the hospital. When he awakens, his Columbus detective friend is there. Says he came upon a drug deal gone horribly bad. Runyan still needs to find the kid, but given the outcome of the shooting, you can bet the remaining druggies are after Runyan.

So there are two chases underway: Runyan chasing down these 2 teenage chess players and the druggies chasing down Runyan. This goes on around Columbus and back towards Ambletown.

Goble has stirred up a fun story full of colorful characters, a lot of wise cracking (courtesy of Runyan), lots of chess details, car chases, gun fights, and an MMA-inspired encounter with a panel van all crammed into one story with two extended chases. Great literature? Nah. Address deep themes of the human condition? Please. A fun read that'll keep the pages turning? Absolutely.

Thanks to the good folks at Oceanview (haven't gone wrong yet with Oceanview mysteries) for making an advance reader copy available on Net Galley. Due for release on Aug 2, 2022.

ECD

I read the first book in this series and gave it only a two-star rating. I thought I’d try again to see if this follow up book was any better. I found it only slightly better. For me there was too much preaching from his soapbox as well as too much presentation of the main character as some kind of Superman. I will not be reading any more from this series if there is another book.

Wayward Son by Steve Goble was an engaging and entertaining crime novel. A timely setting and likeable characters kept me interested and turning pages through the end. Five stars for this book. Looking forward to more by this author.

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

Thank you Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for the copy of Wayward Son. This is my first book from this author. This was a great story! I really liked how chess was woven in and how Jimmy’s story unfolded. I didn’t connect to the writing because it felt over-written if that makes sense. Runyon was SUCH a hero - it was a little too much for me and not realistic. I did like how he figured out what had happened though. People who have read other books in the series would like this, but it wasn’t really for me.

I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way through keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

My thanks to NetGalley for an advanced epub of Wayward Son in exchange for an unbiased review.

Goble's second entry in the Ed Runyon series is a thrill ride. Ed has left the sheriff's department after the events of the first novel and is now a private investigator specializing in finding missing kids. His expertise is, unfortunately, fine-tuned as a result of his professional experiences as a detective in New York City and as a detective/sniper in Ohio. His failure to rescue a missing girl in New York led him to Ohio and the Sheriff's Department but that career move was short-lived. Another missing kid case and Ed had operated a bit too independently so he decides it is time to operate solo.

Teenage Jimmy is missing and his parents, very religious folk, are desperate to find him. They cannot imagine why Jimmy has run away but it doesn't take lone for Ed to discover that Jimmy's truth may not be easily accepted by his parents, especially his dad. Ed utilizes a variety of strategies to locate Jimmy and he soon is in the crosshairs of some dangerous and vengeful drug dealers. Ed's go-it-alone methodology means that he places himself in some rather vulnerable situations in the quest to bring Jimmy home.

I enjoyed the first book more than this one but I will continue with this series.

#WaywardSon #NetGalley #EdRunyon

A great quality gripping read.
I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this story. Not a typical boring or slow moving detective story like I find in most cases! I will definitely be looking out for more stories from this author

It took me some time to get into the story. In some parts the pacing was a bit too slow for my liking, but in general I enjoyed the story. I wanted to know if Ed finds Jimmy in the end and that kept me reading. I was able to empathize with the charcters and understood their thoughts and actions.
The biggest downside of the book was the writing style for me. There are a lot of important messages in the book but I didn't like the way they were told. Many characters were very stereotypical, cliché and over the top - it felt like reading about internet trolls. There was a sexist husband, a homo- and transphobic christian family, the mention of "evil shooter games". I think the author has his heart at the right place and it definitely is important to talk about socially critical topics but I think it was too much of them in one book. I would have liked to see some more depth in the characters and troubles their different believes brought with them.
Overall I enjoyed this book and its message. I would recommend it if you like stories following a private investigator.

Thank you NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the advance reader copy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
The story is about a former deputy sheriff who opens his own PI agency to find missing children. His first case is complicated and gets the interest peaked as to where this will all go with the parents involvement as they are very religious and the boy is keeping secrets . It was enjoyable.

This is a really gripping, fast paced thriller, I raced through it!
A good storyline with fantastic characters, and even though it is about the serious and current worrying subject of cyber hacking, I really enjoyed the humorous element to it.
Easily worthy of 4 stars ⭐️

Wayward son is the second in the Ed Runyon series by author Steve Goble. Ed Runyon is a Former NYPD Police officer who subsequently settles in the Ohio country, where he was born. He is haunted by his past cases where he was witness to a lot of cruelty especially towards children. After his yet another unsuccessful stint, he finally decides to start his own PI agency specializing in finding children. His first case in that direction is the case of finding 15-year-old Jimmy Zachman. Jimmy belongs to a very religious family. His parents are homophobic and extremely averse to atheists. What follows is the pursuit of chess wizard Jimmy, with Ed pursuing any clues that he can find along the way.

The book is based with the backdrop of social issues of color, choice of sexuality, cybercrimes and of course the deadly virus. The author deals with all these issues very beautifully without losing the reader or the main plot. I loved that the book is an easy read, and I was able to finish the book in a couple of sittings. I particularly liked the Rajnikant kind of action in the book 😊. (What can I say, I am a fan of Thalaiva) The book has the potential to keep the reader engaged. I wouldn’t have dropped the book halfway.

Do give it a try, the book is releasing in August this year. I would rate it a cool 4 out of 5.

This was a very entertaining, enjoyable book. I highly recommend it. The main character was likeable and engaging and there was plenty of action.