The Ransom: A Nicole Graves Mystery, Book 4 is a sleuth mystery novel written by Nancy Boyarsky. Nicole was perplexed as she read through the contents of the folder that Jerry, her boss, had left on her desk. In it were press clippings discussing the recent spate of home invasion/kidnappings that had rocked LA. She had, of course, been following up on the situation, as had anyone who kept up with current events. Nicole’s puzzlement over why Jerry had sent her the folder was eased when he explained that one of their clients, Robert Rexton, wanted his daughter-in-law’s past looked into. Ashley Rexton had been the third woman to be kidnapped, and her husband, Brad, had died during the invasion. Nicole had worked with Rexton Enterprises in the past. In her role as a private investigator, she had tracked down hidden assets for a settlement collection from another company. While Colbert and Smith did not ordinarily take on investigations that were active police business, Jerry had agreed to have his top investigator look into Ashley’s past for their client.

While The Ransom is the fourth book in Nancy Boyarsky’s sleuth mystery novel series, the author gives just enough background information to allow this book to be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. Boyarsky’s plot is finely honed and suspenseful as her detective swiftly finds herself personally involved in the series of home invasion/kidnapping crimes. The author gives the reader ample red herrings to consider while also giving opportunities to mull over that very difficult decision to involve the police in ransoms. The Ransom is hard to put down until the last page. Boyarsky’s characters are credible and well-defined, and her style of writing makes reading this book a pleasure. The Ransom: A Nicole Graves Mystery, Book 4 is highly recommended.

The Ransom by Nancy Boyarsky starts out as a case about a murdered man, Brad Rexton, and his wife Ashley’s kidnapping but it becomes so much more very quickly. Nicole is a young and new investigator who has never taken on this type of case before. She has just received a huge amount deposited into her bank account which will add spice to the story. Ashley and two other women have been recently kidnapped and it appears that they have all been taken by the same group and have a connection. As Nicole is interviewing and looking for answers, the case becomes more personal. The police detective who is assigned to find the kidnapped women, Greg Arnault, takes an interest in trying to direct Nicole to do the right and safe thing, but that isn’t a choice she is willing to take. Nicole puts herself in danger and doesn’t back down until she finds the answers.

Nicole is faced with a huge assignment in The Ransom: A Nicole Graves Mystery that will make her mark as a favorite female investigator/sleuth in detective fiction. The Ransom, while the fourth book in the series, is a stand-alone story. I did not read books one to three (though I now plan to do so) and it never made a difference. I found Nicole to be a really likable character. Her sister, Stephanie, and Greg were also easy to cheer on. Author Nancy Boyarsky portrayed both the good and bad guys in a way that made them seem very real and the story never lost excitement, suspense, mystery or good reading. The Ransom is a book that any fan of mystery and detective fiction will find hard to put down.