Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

In This Fell Sergeant by Adam Dompierre, Lacey Matthews hires private investigator Eddie London to examine the reported suicide of her boyfriend, Johnny Sullivan, who died after falling from a balcony at the Bridgewater Hotel. Eddie expects a routine investigation until details surrounding Room 310 begin conflicting with the official police account. Johnny’s connection to businessman Miro Slade pulls Eddie into Summerport’s criminal underworld, where surveillance, hired killers, hidden identities, and long-buried loyalties affect every answer he uncovers. As Eddie traces the final days before Johnny’s fall, he discovers that Johnny’s parents hid information about their son while several figures linked to Slade’s organization worked to keep the past concealed. What begins as a search for the truth behind one death slowly turns into an investigation driven by deception, sacrifice, and the fear of discovery.

Did Johnny really fall from Room 310 of the Bridgewater Hotel? That's the question in Adam Dompierre’s This Fell Sergeant. Eddie is a great protagonist, and it is sheer persistence that guides every decision he makes. Dompierre fleshes him out to a degree where we can see Eddie isn't perfect. He can be deceptive and prone to poor judgment, though he partly repairs that failing. I love Tony, whose rough humor and unexpected loyalty put him on my like list. He risks retaliation by helping Eddie investigate, and even comes up with a fabricated golf survey. Eddie narrates in the first person, and a lot of the mystery unfolds through lengthy conversations. These take place, however, in settings that are immersive. The author breathes life into Summerport through crowded boxing nights at the Conway Center, and quiet cemetery visits beneath Johnny Sullivan’s black memorial plaque. This Fell Segeant is a solid book in the Eddie London Mystery series, and I look forward to reading more.