Dream Town (Private Investigator Archer Book 3)

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Archer suspects that Eleanor knows more than she's saying, but before he can officially take on her case, a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor's home . Talk about six degrees of Baldacci… There was gambling problems, secret marriages, blackmail, mob associations, communist affiliations, drug dealing, and human trafficking to name a few. And the plot is a well-paced, twisty whodunit full of red herrings, sleuthing, suspicious personalities, deduction, attraction, coercion, danger, mayhem, mischief, and murder. I always enjoy a new Baldacci novel and I really like Aloysius Archer so I was looking forward to this one. He’ll almost die several times, and he’ll discover bodies and secrets from the canyons and beaches of Malibu and the luxurious mansions of Bel Air and Beverly Hills to the narcotics clubs of Chinatown.

Being a private investigator is a dangerous business and 'even good guys can make bad choices when things get desperate. David Baldacci is back with another Aloysius Archer story that pulls the reader back to the early 1950s. This was already my favorite of Baldacci's recurring series, and Dream Town only reinforces that, in large part because of Baldacci's brilliance in stitching his story across a tapestry of a bygone era of movie magic with a dark side. and where the powerful people responsible for his client’s disappearance will kill without a moment’s hesitation if they catch Archer on their trail.Set in the early 1950's in Hollywood, it has all the glitz and glamour of the era that I just loved. The dangers that Archer faces end up testing his relationship and feelings for Liberty, his work is far from well rewarded and his life is at constant risk, yet when he considers the possibility of other better paying opportunities, it is clear that when it comes down to it, a PI is what he wants to be and nothing is going to change his mind. The 1950s weren't the fabled good old days, but they're fodder for gritty crime stories of high ideals and lowlifes, of longing and disappointment, and all the trouble a PI can handle. In total, David has published 49 novels for adults; all have been national and international bestsellers, and several have been adapted for film and television.

Narration is performed by the very talented Edoardo Ballerini and Brittany Pressley They make a fantastic team and kept me glued to their voices from start to finish. He connects his plot, characters, and style together like the lyrics of a good Eagles hit song that you just sing along with and get lost in the music. Michaelides seems also to be dipping into the world of Edgar Allan Poe, offering an unreliable narrator who feels more like a literary exercise.

Last year, Baldacci brought Archer back for his second outing – “A Gambling Man” – which continued his journey into California during 1950 and solving another mystery. Archer's case highlights the misogyny of the time and in Hollywood, where little is as it appears to be, as he uncovers lies, secrets, blackmail, and deceptions, and mixes with Hollywood royalty, like the actress Samantha Lourdes. Baldacci has done this and more, churning out great novels in a variety of sub-genres, all of which are of the highest caliber. Though he isn't present in every scene, he conveys each piece of the story leading up to the murder as if he were an omniscient narrator, capable of accessing every character's interior perspective. In fact, David Baldacci seems to be writing a whole slew of characters of late that I’m finding absolutely compelling, and I’m loving it.

While this book is part of a series, it's written as a standalone and you don't have to read the other books to enjoy this one. Hachette Book Group is a leading book publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world.Later, he sneaks into Lamb’s house and stumbles upon a body, then gets knocked out by an unseen assailant. The 1950s weren’t the fabled good old days, but they’re fodder for gritty crime stories of high ideals and lowlifes, of longing and disappointment, and all the trouble a PI can handle. S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006). While there is little chance Aloysius will have any crossovers with characters in Baldacci’s other series, I see a lot of great possible interactions as the series progresses.