Dark Fissures

A Rick Cahill Novel

By: Matt Coyle

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

Private Investigator Rick Cahill fears the next knock on his door will be a cop holding a warrant for his arrest. For murder. La Jolla Chief of Police Tony Moretti is convinced Rick killed a missing person. No body has been found, but the evidence that's piling up says murder and it all points to Rick. With Moretti on his tail and the bank about to foreclose on his house, Rick takes a paying case that will stave off the bank, but pits him against Moretti and the La Jolla Police Department.

Brianne Colton, a beautiful country singer, is convinced her estranged husband's suicide was really murder. Rick is unconvinced, but the mortgage has to be paid. Each new piece of evidence convinces him she's right. He breaks his number one rule and falls for Brianne, even as he begins to question her motives.

As Moretti cinches the vise tighter, with Rick unable to trust the FBI, evil forces emerge from the shadows who will do anything, including torture and murder, to stop Rick from uncovering the truth.

©2016 Matt Coyle (P)2017 Matt Coyle

A decent story and mystery; an easy listen, but...

for some reason this book just did not stimulate me as much as others of this genre tend to do and I am not sure why. The setting, background of the characters, and plot were all of the kind that I typically enjoy so I kept waiting for story to really grab hold of me; it never did. It was not the narrator (Travis Baldtree) as, if nothing else, I think he did a great deal to add to the listen with his different character voices and inflection. I gave him a 4th star as opposed to the 3-starts for the story and overall rating.

The plot takes several twists and turns, with one never knowing until the conclusion of the book as to who the ultimate (among the several minor) villains were. The characters were well developed and we knew enough of their back-stories to appreciate their actions. The author also did a good job of tying off most of the potential loose ends by not just dropping characters from the story-line; they were all accounted for by the ending. Speaking of the ending, I did find it being rather abrupt. It wasn't so much that it was incomplete, but it just concluded without much of winding down period after the fact. In mean the concluding chapter, where everything comes together, takes place in a about 5-minutes of listening time. The epilogue did help in finishing up the story and the after lives of the main characters, so that was good.

I realized, after the fact, that this book is part of a series. However, it was written as a standalone and did work as such. Maybe if I had listened to some of the earlier Rick Cahill novels I may have enjoyed this book all the more. If I have a chance, I will give them a listen and perhaps update this review.

As an aside, I tend to review books in comparison to others I have read or listened to in the same genre. Given that, I rate this book as average, or a bit above. Not bad, but not among the best.

Finally, I was provided a free copy of the audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher in return for my unbiased review of the work. Thanks, and I hope others find this entry helpful.

Great dark character

Any additional comments?

Great old fashioned detective tale in modern times. An antihero with a good heart just trying to get through a blacklisted life. There are many instances where the narrator added to the overall feel of the story. An audiobook well done. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

DARK IS THE KEY WORD!

This book is full of murder, mystery and so much action. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I even like the not so happily ever after ending. I like all the military, FBI and Police references. I love the main character Rick Cahill and the detective work he does.

"I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher."

This is a good book.

If you like P.I.. novels then this is the book for you. It has a good story and the narrator is wonderful. I received this audiobook for free, but voluntarily reviewed.

Not Just another "Flawed" Hero

I truly enjoyed the characters in this book. It is pretty common today to have a flawed hero at the center of the story, but Rick Cahill is not just flawed he is seriously damaged, but he has a dry sense of humor, he is trying to do the right thing and you really do end up rooting for him in the end. The book left some unanswered questions, which is ok, since it is a series, I will be looking for more and hopefully I will get those answers.

The narration was spot on. I was hooked from the beginning and the narrators tone matched the action in the book perfectly.