Great book. I loved Jake and Nicole and who can resist a book set in NOLA?? Really enjoyed it

Jake Longly and Nicole Jemison are the Rick Castle and Kate Beckett of private investigators.

Jake Longly and Nicole Jemison are the Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan of private investigators.

Jake Longly and Nicole Jemison are the Ryan Booth and Alex Parrish of private investigators.

. . .Catch my drift?

And if you enjoy watching those fictive, made-for-tv characters—zany as they are—by way of any of the respective dramas on which they feature, then you will indeed enjoy D.P. Lyle’s impending mystery thriller, A-List.

Set in the ever effervescent New Orleans—that’s N’awlins to us non-natives—the fun and food-filled, liquor-flowing tale gets underway when the alpha female Nicole receives a phone call from her uncle Charles Balfour, a big shot Hollywood movie producer/director, asking for both Jake’s and her help in the investigation of a murdered young woman inside of a Big Easy five-star hotel room—which just so happens to involve a world-famous, and exceptionally good-looking, albeit whorish, movie star named Kirk Ford.

The young woman, Kristy Guidry, and Ford have had intimate relations in Ford’s room, of course, and when the Hollywood royal awakes the next day to find Guidry laying next to him, literally dead to the world, all hell suddenly breaks loose, especially after the girl’s uncle, Tony Guidry—a mob boss of both local and long distance influence—learns that his beloved niece, whom he, by the way, idolizes nearly to the extreme of perversity, has been killed. Tony suspects pretty boy Kirk. And Tony, the top Don of the Southern Regions, vows deadly retribution.

. . .He wants his neice’s murder avenged. And he wants his neice’s murder avenged now.

Enter a foursome that even the Master of the Crime Caper himself, the same being Carl Hiaasen, would get a kick out of: Ray Longly, founder of Longly Investigations. He’s quite a guy. And he’s also Jake’s father; the big and extra beefy Tommy “Pancake” Jeffers, Ray’s partner and a menacing red head who can pack a hefty punch—on both criminals and food; Nicole Jemison, a ridiculously beautiful—however domineering—P.I. whose only flaw is her tendency to forget that she entered the world from her mother’s womb equipped with a clitoris, vulva, and vaginal cavity, and not with a penis, scrotum, and testicles; and of course there’s our main protagonist, Jake Longly, formerly famous MLB pitcher turned P.I./bar owner and Nicole’s love interest.

. . .Added to this badass, though wacky, quartet of star characters are a supporting cast just as lovable, even if downright scandalous: Kirk Ford, screen idol and one of Hollywood’s biggest moneymaking stars; Tegan and Tara James, gorgeous “identical” twin actresses and Kirk’s sisterish (Is that a word?) co-stars who, like their “big brother” Kirk, are in N’awlins shooting the latest installment of a major multi-billion dollar blockbuster franchise (Space Quest) that the trio have starred in together since its inception; Marty Ebersole, director of Space Quest, who’s all about protecting his interests; and Troy Doucet, NOPD detective assigned to the Guidry murder case, and who, in turn, works with Ray, Pancake, Jake, and Nicole to crack it.

. . .Who killed Kristy Guidry? And why? What had been his or her motive?

A small group of bit players and extras—including the two brothers of the deceased, Kevin and Robert—round out this adventurous mystery. And it is one that is sure to hold your interest as it had mine.

The Big Easy floweth with plenty of gumbo and rice, oyster po’boys, crawfish étouffée, jalepeño cornbread, and of course, liquor, as our exceptional team of P.I.s work both the French Quarter and the gator-infested swamps to find a killer—at least before the Mafiosi do.

Great work of fiction by D.P. Lyle. And if I may say as much, A-List is to me not so much of a thriller as it is a murder mystery. In fact, the narrative is better suited for the action/adventure/crime/mystery genres than it is for the thriller genre. Nevertheless, it was an amusing and hilarious read.

Here’s another thing. Though I do recommend A-List, readers must be informed that the same is a “true-to-form murder mystery.” You won’t find out who killed Kristy Guidry (and why) until the the book is two to three blinks away from its ending.
. . .Okay that may be a bit of an exaggeration, as the figure of speech was only used here to stress a point. But because A-List is overall a genuinely entertaining read, the reader should not expect to bore.

I applaud D.P. Lyle for a work well-penned, but because of the stretch of waiting that it took to get the the heart valve of the mystery, I’m inclined to settle this particular Jake Longly adventure with a four star rating.

• It is my kindly pleasure to thank Oceanview Publishing, as well as NetGalley, for the advanced copy of “A-List,” in exchange for my honest review.

Analysis of “A-List” by D.P. Lyle is courtesy of Reviews by Cat Ellington: https://catellingtonblog.wordpress.com

Date of Review: Thursday, June 15, 2017

“A-List” by D.P. Lyle features an odd assortment of characters who call the Gulf Coast home. Jake Longly is an ex-baseball player who runs Captain Rocky’s Surf and Turf, while his father Ray runs a P. I. firm, Longly Investigations. Jake and his friends travel to New Orleans at the request of a friend when an A-list actor, star of the “Space Quest” movies gets arrested for the murder of a local girl found strangled in his bed. This celebrity status means damage control and cover up right from the start. Lies, lies, and more lies are entangled so much that the truth is hard to find.

The book is primarily written as Jake’s first person narrative so the narrative is mostly dialogue driven. He paints a laid-back, colorful picture of New Orleans “Soon we were out over Lake Pontchartrain, where the wind whipped the water into foam and some of the waves looked as if they might wash over the road.” Comic relief abounds as they try to move the investigation along. “What are you doing? Negotiating the Louisiana Purchase? And when all else fails, call upon the master of mystery “All I’m saying is that this might be an Agatha Christie locked room case. There might be someone else involved.”

“A-List” was not a nail-biting thriller, but was a quick, fun book to read, considering there was a murder after all. The characters are light-hearted and funny, and no one takes things too seriously. I received a copy of “A-List” from Oceanview Publishing, D. P. Lyle, and NetGalley to review. It was an entertaining book, and I enjoyed reading it.

Set in raffish yet enchanting New Orleans, this mystery gets tough, beautiful, kick-boxing and fast driving Nicole and her more laid back ex-ballplayer partner Jake moving when Nicole’s Hollywood producer uncle begs for help. It seems his big star in a successful science fiction franchise woke up with the king of hangovers, with a strangled girl next to him. Of course he is under arrest, and the production is shut down, bleeding money.

Nicole, Jake, and Jake’s tough P.I. dad Ray (along with his gigantic computer wizard Pancake) travel to New Orleans, where they get mixed up in the gangster world, as they work alongside New Orleans police to solve the mystery.

Lyle paints the city in vivid colors—our characters down more alcohol than I’ve had in the last thirty years—as they romp in the bedroom by night and by day comb for clues among the Hollywood people and the gangland people. Sometimes it’s not clear which ones live in the weirder alternate universe.

This seems to be the second of a series, but it’s easy to pick up the gist of what’s gone on before. And after having read mainly female-written mysteries for the last several years, it was interesting to read one written by a man. His descriptions of alpha Nicole reminds me of the lingering descriptions of ultra-fit and handsome guys in romantic pairings written by females. This is not a creeb. Nicole is written as smart, capable, and very much the dominant partner of the team. That’s probably why I enjoyed Jake’s rueful self-awareness of his own capabilities while appreciating her stellar attributes.

I figured out the mystery fairly early on, but it was fun to see how it played out, and what happened to the various characters.

A thoroughly engrossing beach read. I’ll be on the watch for more of this series—I really like crime-fighting pairs, and Jake and Nicole were fun to follow.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Jake Longly and Nicole Jemison are private investigators and we follow their story as they get a new case.

Set in New Orleans, a fun and food-filled, liquor-flowing tale gets underway when the Nicole receives a phone call from her uncle Charles, a Hollywood movie producer/director, asking for both Jake’s and her help in the investigation of a murdered young woman inside of a Big Easy five-star hotel room.

The young woman, Kristy Guidry, and Ford have had intimate relations in Ford’s room and when the Hollywood royal awakes the next day to find Guidry laying next to him, then all hell suddenly breaks loose, after the girl’s uncle, Tony Guidry wants his niece's murder avenged.

In my personal opinion writing was captivating but it could have been executed a little bit better, the narrative is better suited for the action/adventure/crime/mystery genres than it is for the thriller genre. But it is also important to state this was a fun read.

A nice easy read with humor, mystery and a few twists and turns. Perfect beach read!

A-list featured interesting characters, a plot which moved along nicely, a Big Easy New Orleans that I don't read about everyday, and a writing style which was brisk, interesting, and compelling. I want to read more about the cops, criminals, and private investigators (official and non) that populate this murder mystery.

A-list is a delightful retro romp through New Orleans with all the classic mystery elements: a locked room mystery, movie stars, beautiful women, a mob boss, lots of booze, seedy underworld characters and a hapless hero PI. I hadn't read any of the Jake Longley books before but if this one is any indication, I will be reading many more.

The characters were great, really enjoyed this book - excellent storyline.

Okay there are sexist 'comic' comment throughout which author appends to every mention of the narrator's partner - they seem always to have sex in the shower, and he is constantly observant of her rather-cliched sexiness; it is repetitive as is slow unfolding of the plot - a pretty-boy Hollywood star wakes up next to a local girl who has been murdered - Jake, our narrator, and his team of well-connected omniscient PI crew, solve things by questioning local suspects - well characterised, and some lethal twins ... setting are colourful and well done, and there is an overall very pleasant geniality that is attractive. Despite its repetitions and sexist stuff, it's adept and well set up altogether. I enjoyed it.

I was glad that DP Lyle decided to continue on with the book series. Nicole and Jakes stories continues in this novel and Uncle Ray makes another appearance, PI extraordinaire. It was awesome to read a novel with a very strong female lead that knew exactly what she wanted and how to take charge. The relationship between Nicole and Jake was very strong and funny even though it is fairly knew you can still feel the emotions for each other on every page; even when they were exasperated with each other. This book was full of comedy, romance, mystery, and some surprises and I loved how the story built and grew. I look forward to reading all books in this series. I hope everyone that reads this series enjoys it as much as I did.
Thank you NetGalley and DP Lyle for allowing me to read and review this novel.

A-List is a fun, fast-paced read. The setting, New Orleans, provides a happening background. The characters lack depth but if you are looking for an easy, entertaining read, this is it.

In book one of this series, PI Jack Longly and Nicole Jamison become a detective team. This time, they are sent down to New Orleans by Nicole’s uncle—a movie producer—to find out why his A-List mega-star actor, Kirk Ford, woke up to find a dead girl in his bed. Glitzy Hollywood moves this story both in setting, character and plot. Lyle is known for giving his readers a thrill-ride and in this Hollywood-studded read, he doesn’t disappoint.

A good mystery with lots of suspects. The characters are all involved with this twisted plot and kept you guessing.

I love D P Lyle's Jake Longly series. Part noir, part humor, and all fun. Read this one but get the rest of the books in the series. too. You won't regret it. Highly recommended

Jake Longly, a private investigator, and his girlfriend, Nicole, along with a couple of others solve a murder in New Orleans at the request of Nicole's uncle who is a movie producer. The story has the glitz of Hollywood and the rich culture of New Orleans, along with a bit of 'thugness' for good measure. The writing is quick-witted, mixed with narrative that describes the movie set and NOLA, which I wish there was a little more of. Nonetheless, it was a fun adventure crime read. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read for an honest review. I give it 4 stars.

Fun storyline even though it’s a mystery. There’s a little bit of many things going on in this book. The Hollywood movie stars in New Orleans to film a movie, but 2 were found in bed together & the man can’t recall what happened the night before. It’s up to the detectives to figure out if the Hollywood man is the suspect.....or did something else happen in the Big Easy the detectives will find? Fast paced, enjoyable, fun read

I’d highly recommend this book esp. for those who enjoy the “Hollywood scene & film making”, perhaps readers that grew up or lived in this area & for any reader that enjoys a fast fun paced mystery, seeing if you can figure out the suspect prior to the detectives

I received a digital copy of this book from #NetGally & #OveanviewPublishing. Thank you for allowing me to read this book & in return I wrote an honest review

It is not Los Angeles, so maybe this movie star will get convicted of murder. New Orleans, locked room with one dead body and a A-list movie star, private investigators, drug dealers, and so much more. A fun mystery with snappy dialog. There is some foul language, but the sex scenes are not described in intimate detail. So this book falls within my acceptable reading category. It does bring back wonderful memories of long ago read mysteries by John D. McDonald and Robert Parker. I look forward to reading more Jake Longly stories.

I loved this book great characters and setting.The main characters Jake and Nicole and also Ray and Pancake were larger than life and I loved the banter and humour between them.I gather this is the second book in the series as usual I am late to the party and didn't read the first book, but I still managed to jump straight in and enjoy this one.If I had a slight criticism it would be that there were so many peripheral characters I couldn't keep up, I don't think all the extras in the book were all needed the main characters and the twins as well and others were such great characters that the extras overwhelmed me a bit, they made me lose focus slightly, this is a very industrious author who certainly gives value for money, and who knocks out a damn good story as well. I would definitely read more books in this series and enjoyed this one very much. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC.

I haven't read any of this author before but truly enjoyed this zany romp through New Orleans with Jake and Nicole--amateur PI's who work for Jake's Uncle Ray. When an A-lister star winds up in bed with his strangled date and feigns innocence, Jake and Nicole are on the case! Drug dealers, lots of good food and alcohol, and witty banter are all a part of this murder/comedy/thriller. Told mainly from the point of view of Jake, we get lots of humor as he constantly praises his girlfriend, Nicole; but if you can ignore the sexism and just get caught up in the fun, you will not be disappointed!

Author D.P. Lyle took me on an excursion through the colorful streets of the Bayou. Home of the Mardi Gras - New Orleans. The momentum from the action-packed scenes cascaded with suspense from beginning to end. I was all-in. This well-written narrative carried a fervor that held me in its grasp throughout. Just the place I long to be. I was blindsided by the ending. Never saw it coming.

Retired baseball legend, Jake Longly was livin' the dream in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The beach, the beer, the women - though not necessarily in that order. His father, not far away, ran his own PI firm. Business was healthy. Whenever the need arose, he threw some work Jake's way. Kept his boy off the streets. The need arose.

Sci-Fi movie star Kirk Longly was on set trudging through the swamps in New Orleans. The price of fame. Known as a Playboy, he was often seen with different women on every shooting location. This time things were different. Looked like he might have found a keeper. Might get to discover what a meaningful relationship was all about.

It was not meant to be. One fateful day in his hotel room, after an evening of heavy partying, he and Kristi went to bed. Fell unconscious was more like it. When he awoke, she was dead. Strangled. A bra tightly wrapped around her neck. He freaked out. Had no recollection of the night. Could have been too much booze and marijuana. But never had a complete blackout before.

Kristi was the niece of feared New Orleans gangster Tony Guidry. Not the kind of person you want to get on the wrong side of. Unless of course you had a death wish. The French Quarter was his domain. He ruled with an iron fist. Nobody, I mean nobody messed with him. He doted on Kristi. Anyone doing her harm would ultimately wish for a quick death. Though that wasn't Tony's style. It would be savored.

Kirk had no reason to murder this girl. She was the first one he'd ever cared for. Now, the number one suspect, he was promptly arrested and arraigned in court. Fortunately, he made bail. Only three million dollars. Peanuts. Ordered not to leave the city, he continued his role on set. The Show Must Go On.

It looked like Kirk was in a hopeless situation. All evidence pointed to him as the most likely killer. And worse yet, if he wasn't convicted in court then Tony would inflict his own form of justice. Kirk knew it. Everyone knew it. Suddenly, the clouds parted, the sun had made its grand entrance. A critical finding had turned it up with the ME. DNA evidence was found under one of Christie's fingernails. Evidently, she had scratched her attacker. And it was shown to be that of a female. A game-changer. Who would want Kristi dead? Or was this a setup to frame Kirk?

My thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book has all the elements I prize: interesting characters, a mystery right up to the end, great descriptions, and sparkling dialog. Each of the main characters is well-defined and realistic. The pursuit of a murderer who left a corpse in a locked room with an unconscious actor leads down crooked paths through New Orleans. The writing flowed well and made the book easy to read, but very engrossing. While I had read the previous book in this series, this adventure stands entirely on its own. Its entertaining, engrossing and suspenseful.

4 stars

Jake Longly and girlfriend Nicole head to the Big Easy to investigate a murder along with Jake’s father Ray and his techno-wizard Pancake. It seems movie star Kirk Ford woke up in bed next to a dead woman.

The problem is that the dead woman named Kirsti was the niece of a crime kingpin who will do anything to get the guy who killed her. Can Jake, Nicole, Ray and Pancake work with this guy? They need to make a pact before things get out of hand.

Surrounded by famous actors, actresses, police and wise guys, the team tries to make the best of it and to solve the case.

This book is well written and plotted. I understand it is a series, so I went to Amazon to look for others of D.P. Lyle’s novels. It is littered with mild humor which moves the story along nicely. I liked the main characters, and the easy – for the most part – manner in which the characters got along. The suspense in the story starts out almost immediately, but it is a gentle kind of suspense. I believe the added humor offset the tension a bit. It is a good read. I truly enjoyed it.

I want to thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read and enjoy.

Nicole is a P I and her partner-and lover- is a laid back ex major league baseball pitcher Jake. Nicole got a call from her Uncle Charles who was a famous director who was in Europe working on a film. An A-List actor Kirk had been with a local girl Kristy he actually cared about. He remembers smoking a joint and having sex with Kristy and that was it he woke up in the morning with a serious hangover and found Kristy stabbed to death with a bra next to him in bed and can’t remember anything else from the night before. Jake’s father -Ray has a P I business but Jake and Ray don’t get along and Jake doesn’t want to work with or for his father but he does for Nicole. Nicole,Jake, Ray. and Pancake- who is a huge built computer wizard- all go to New orleans where Kirk is at out on bail working on hids next sci fi movie. Kristy is the niece of the local gangster Tony Gidrey ruled the French Quarter and ran it with iron control and he wanted revenge on Kristy’s death. Tony had loved his niece. Kristy had DNA under her nails as she had scratched her attacker and it wasn’t Kirks. Also the joint had been laced with the date rape drug so Kirk was cleared.
I enjoyed this book. I liked the pace and plot of this book. This book had a lot to it : mystery, murder, humor. New Orleans, gangsters, danger, laced joint, intrigue, movie star. Making a movie, and a lot more. I liked how the author portrayed New Orleans. This kept all my attention all through this book. I loved Pancake and felt he added to this book. I was surprised by the ending. This was a fun, good read. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend.

This is my first book by D.P. Lyle. The story is quick and loaded with action and laughs. Keeps you on your toes and guessing the whole time. It’s an added plus for me that it took place in New Orleans, and enjoyed every minute of his travels.

I enjoyed this book, I love a bit of humour with my mysteries. The book was well written and the characters were engaging enough to make me want to seek out more stories by this author.

I enjoyed this book and the main characters, Jake and Nicole. Setting in New Orleans was a plus!

I enjoyed many things about A-List, especially the setting in New Orleans and the dialogue between main characters Jake and Nicole. At times, though, I felt like I was missing something, especially when references were made to prior events in the series that I did not fully understand. For instance, I am not sure why Tammy, Jake's ex-wife, is included. I think I need to go back and read the earlier books in the series.

On first blush, this whodunnit presents us with an open-and-shut case. A-list actor Kirk Ford gets drunk and stoned in a locked hotel room with his star-struck girlfriend, only to wake up and find her totally dead and strangled next to him. It had to be him. Surely.

But this is about a locked-room mystery and a duo of private investigators, Jake Longly and Nicole Jamison are called in by the matter's movie producer uncle to make absolutely sure they have the right man.

It doesn't take long for the sleuths to find themselves in a demi-monde of drug dealers and local gangsters where questions do begin to emerge about just how capable the star was of doing it when it appears he might have had rather more than marijuana and booze in his system from that dated night before. The private detectives have to look more deeply for those in both movie star and victim's social circle for who might have had more motive, more means and the how to be the murderer.

This writer knows how to create not just suspense but also a fun and entertaining read. There is an element of James Bond in the telling - the female sidekick is a real badass as a fighter, both seem to enjoy marathon sessions of nookie between their sleuthing as well as enjoying excellent New Orleans cuisine and high-life glamour amidst the piquancy of ever-present danger from the local mob interest. Longly is still finding his feet and capable of self deprecation, but he encounters new challenges with a new-found diplomatic aplomb.

It was eventually possible to identify the real villain, but this only emerges quite late into the novel, so the denouement is still reasonably surprising.

A good entertaining read all round.

It’s a case of who done it.....lots of characters to chose from and you will keep guessing to the very end! Great read