My Detective

My Detective is essentially a story of obsession and revenge. Told in a very concise modern noir style. Although it features murders, there’s no mystery here, this isn’t about who, this is all about why. But it does have plenty of thrills and suspense. I actually haven’t read noir in a while and it was very refreshing and enjoyable. The clipped sentences, the pared down minimalism of language, the author’s done a great job of it. Although this is very much modern too, every effort has been made to anchor the narrative not only down to an era, but down to the year, with multiple cultural and political references. Which is an interesting choice, for me noir is always innately associated with a very different era and modern versions work best when there is certain timelessness to it. But anyway…this is a story of a woman, who carries out a deadly vengeance plan while being obsessed with a local detective. Told through alternating perspectives, there’s the cop, a laconic and idiosyncratic man, and a woman, well, this is noir, so maybe a dame, or actually and literally a femme fatale. If her story sounds familiar, it’s because it’s basically an upscale version of I Spit on Your Grave (any of them). The perpetrators are high end and LA is a far cry from boonies, but the crime and the punishment are much the same. So the idea should be (much like in the movies) that you’re cheering for the victim turned avenger. But here’s where the book falters. Because, while the author wrote a prototypically perfect male protagonist in the detective character, Dylan (the femme fatale) with her obsessive nature straight out of Kepnes’ You comes across far less likeable somehow. At some juncture there’s something in the book about how one mustn’t seem in need of pity, because a pitied person can’t be loved, and that might be the case here, you kind of pity Dylan. The author made her slightly too unhinged, too lovestruck, too prone to overexplanation. She isn’t engaging enough as a character and her fierceness is consistently tempered with her schoolgirl infatuation with the detective. She’s interesting enough, but lacks the charm or je ne sais quoi of say the other great cop/lady who kills relationship like the one between Luther and Alice Morgan. Still though I’m glad the ending went the way it did. And I did enjoy reading this very much, the succinctness of noir was a welcome change, the plot moved swiftly (yes, it was basically a mash up of two very popular franchises’ ideas, but a well done one and different enough to be its own thing) and it was just a very entertaining read.. And a quick one too. Nice introduction to the author. Thanks Netgalley.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book on several levels. First, I'm a denizen of Los Angeles, so I can attest to the accuracy of its wicked side. Second, the premise was unique; seldom is a woman the murderer, and even more seldom does she work in law enforcement. I also liked that she was a smart, diabolical female killer... fairly rare in today's fiction. It's a great book for a cold, rainy night; definitely recommended!

Enjoyed this suspenseful thriller very much r ight up to the end, where found the denouement unsatisfying. Did not resolve very well the complex relationship between the main characters. Needs something like the ending of Gone Girl. However, it is a very intriguing, suspenseful, oustandingly written work. Loved 99 % of it. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review,

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this combination of a thriller and a police procedural.

Detective is obsessed with solving a case.
Killer is obsessed with stalking her victims and enacting revenge while simultaneously stalking the detective that is investigating and trying to find her.

Writing was very detailed and engaging, the back story on both the villain and the detective was well developed and drew me in to care about both characters.

The plot development was tight and doled out slowly, not fully revealed until the last third of the book. Definitely kept me reading and wanting to see how things played out.

The ending was a bit disappointing and anti climactic...after all the build up it didnt really fulfill my expectations and left a few threads unresolved. Definitely seemed like a lead in for future books in a series.

Overall, very enjoyable and recommended. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

An intriguing thriller is My Detective. Jeffrey Fleischman is a master at drawing the reader in and crafting an engrossing read.

3.5 stars

This is a crime story .. or maybe, it's a love story. It's the story of two people who are flawed, each with a history that they don't readily share with anyone.

Dylan Cross is an architect ... she's also a killer. She's killing those that have hurt her in the past. Detective Sam Carver is the man she feels will understand her, understand why she kills, maybe heal her soul, maybe love her. Carver is obsessed with solving this case... while Dylan is obsessed with the detective,

Dylan has hacked his computer and she follows everything he writes .. and he writes a lot. She knows all his secrets, his wishes, his history of an abusive father.

There's not a lot of action here, but it's nicely paced... like sipping a glass of wine at the end of the day. It's an interesting read, something a little different.

Many thanks to the author / Blackstone Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of MY DETECTIVE. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Leagues ahead of the regular cop and killer crime stories

This is a lyrically written crime story of detective Sam Carver and female architect/ killer Dylan Cross.
It is told in alternating perspectives, that of the cop and that of the killer. So after the first couple of chapters we know a fair bit about the killer but not her motive. For Sam the killings of two prominent architects in LA is at first a mystery but as the story deepens he begins to suspect one killer, and after a video shot of a mysterious woman entering the building where the second victim lived he suspects the killer is a woman. An extra layer is added by the killer's monitoring of Sam's computer where Sam maintains a diary and musings about the murder. It becomes apparent to Sam that the two killed architects were not particularly noble persons.

But the turning point comes as Sam in searching the belongings of the two architects comes across a flash drive depicting a young woman being brutally raped by the two architects and a third unidentified individual. At this point Sam realizes that the killer is exacting revenge on the perpetrators of that act. And then in a stroke of luck he stumbles upon her identity. But the killer knowing he is on her trail sets a trap for him. This foils her plans to become romantically involved with him.

We come to empathize with the killer who is the real victim of this story. Therefore, many of us will find the ending satisfying.

I highly recommend this novel. It is leagues ahead of the regular cop and killer crime stories. I eagerly await the next by this author.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.