Saratoga Payback

Saratoga Springs sleuth Charlie Bradshaw has been MIF (missing in fiction) since 1998’s Saratoga Strongbox, in which he took a back seat to his colorful wheeler-dealer pal Victor Plotz. Victor and his con man patter are present in the witty 11th entry in the series, but only in support of Charlie, now a partially settled family man whose PI license and weapon have been pulled. Actually, it’s Victor who convinces Charlie, after an unlikable acquaintance expires near Charlie’s doorstep, to return to form and risk the wrath of Saratoga PD Lt. Frank Hutchins. Dobyns’s style is heavily sardonic, and actor Newbern (Scandal, Friends) smoothly follows his lead in his narration. His voice may be a little too youthful for a hero who spends much of his time reflecting on his advancing years, but it’s also versatile enough to do justice to the novel’s varied humor. A Blue Rider hardcover. (Mar.)