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Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite
The Case of the Not-So-Fair Trader by Jim Stevens is book 1 of the Richard Sherlock Whodunit Mysteries. A very unpopular and much despised stock trader is dead, found buried under a pile of rocks from his own rock garden. Richard Sherlock is an ex-police officer, ex because he was fired. Tiffany Richmond is his high maintenance protégée and it is she who pulls him away from the bowling alley to go and investigate. Sherlock is an insurance agent and it is his job to determine if the victim was murdered and to stop his company from having to pay out on the $12 million insurance policy. Sherlock is stumped. The crime scene is a complete mess and nothing is making sense. There is no trail to follow, nothing that leads to an obvious suspect, and there are far too many suspects with far too many alibis. His back hurts, his ex-wife is hounding him for money, and the investigation is interfering with his relationship with his daughters. Sherlock is the best there is, though, and he will find out just whodunit.
The Case of the Not-So-Fair Trader (A Richard Sherlock Whodunit Book 1) by Jim Stevens is one of those good old-fashioned gumshoe detective stories. The story moved at a good pace and followed a natural trail. I enjoyed the characters, they were well researched and developed and, at times, they really made me laugh out loud. Stevens has a good style of writing, very engaging, and nice dry sense of humor that I found appealing. He knows his work and it comes across clearly in the way he writes. This was an enjoyable mystery with an interesting conclusion and I would highly recommend it. Looking forward to book 2.
