Rigged: A Jake Longly Thriller

In Lyle’s fast, fun fourth Jake Longly thriller (after 2019’s Sunshine State), Longly describes himself as an “ex–major league baseball stud, restaurateur, defender of frivolous lawsuits, lover of women, well, one in particular, and for sure a world-class avoider of work.” He reluctantly helps out at his father’s Alabama PI firm, where his girlfriend, Nicole Jamison, and his best friend, Tommy “Pancake” Jeffers, work as operatives. Pancake is assigned to the financial side of the divorce of a woman he last saw in grade school, Emily Patterson. He’s looking forward to meeting Emily again, but she fails to turn up for their appointment and is later found murdered, along with her friend Jason Collins. Drugs found in Jason’s pocket and the gangland-style killings lead the local police chief to suspect a turf war between rival dealers. Emily’s brother hires the Longly team to bring her killer to justice. The characters are fresh and well-defined, but it’s Jake’s snappy patter and amusing riffs, often focusing on his monumentally annoying ex-wife, that drive the narrative to its Glock-blazing conclusion. This series just keeps getting better. [em]Agent: Kimberly Cameron, Kimberly Cameron & Assoc. (May) [/em]