California Fever is a light and breezy "caper" mystery by John J. Jacobsen. Released 5th July 2022 by Blackstone, it's 160 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a fun and very light mystery(ish) story set in southern California and featuring lots of surfer culture and appealingly off-kilter characters. Dolphin Smoote just wants to catch waves and earn money without having to work for it. He has a love interest who mere presence renders him tongue-tied and flustered. The secondary characters are variously adorable, silly, and questionable.

In a lot of good ways it reminded me of a more grown-up episode of Scooby-Doo. There's a lot of whimsy and humor, and if the writing isn't terribly polished, at least it suits the narrative very well.

Three and a half stars. It's a standalone and a fast read. It would be a good choice for a pick-up-and-put-down commute or break read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Casual but not radical, California Fever is a breezy beach read that successfully banks on style to make up for its offbeat pacing. A fun short read that I definitely enjoyed, but probably wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend to just anybody.

Herein lies a mystery. The mystery presented in California Fever is solved, in my opinion, in a very Scooby Doo kind of way. Not that it is a bad thing. I have always enjoyed the Scooby Gang. California Fever is by no means a serious mystery/thriller, but don’t let that scare you off. Even die hard mystery readers can get joy from this quick read. Just like the surfer crew main characters, California Fever puts on a very laid back mystery style. The characters have their general human flaws but are overall likeable.

Our main character is Dolphin Smoote. He is a local surfer who has very little on his mind aside from finding the perfect wave with his surfer friends and heaven forbid they have to get a real job. Dolphin lives with his famous writer Aunt Clemmie as he so lovingly calls her. However, he does meet a girl who catches his attention and in an effort to impress her, he needs to come up with some quick money. What follows is a parody of bad decisions and a running thread of old school mystery. The reader will be on the outside looking in so to say as we do not see from a single perspective, but look down on the scene as if we are watching it play out on a screen.

This is a quick read and to be honest in the beginning I was unsure if I would want to even finish. I continued to read and overall enjoyed the experience. I liked the writing style and I feel like it is a nice read for summer.

I want to thank Netgalley, John J. Jacobson, and Blackstone Publishing for this early arc in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

This is a very slight comic novel with an appealing setting that is inaccurately classified as a mystery.
The book apparently aspires to PG Wodehouse levels but fails to reach it. It is mildly entertaining.

Setting and characters were fun
Pacing and plot were all over the place
Overall a pleasant weekend read in the car

This is pretty good. Very interesting characters created here, along with an amusing plot. I wouldn't consider it great literature, but that's fine since it's just meant to be good entertainment. It is.

Thank you for the free ARC for review!!

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing, in return for an honest review. Dolphin Smoote epitomizes Southern California Surfer Cool – at least until he meets the woman of his dreams. However, she’s more impressed by his eccentric and highly successful author aunt. Events conspire and suddenly, Dolphin’s life is about a lot more than riding the waves with his buddies! There’s mystery, very quirky characters, and a very SoCal feel, so you can visit without leaving your house!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Blackstone Publishing and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Humorous mystery with likable, quirky characters and a unique story.