Volumes 8-10 in the Dev Haskell Private Investigator series. Crickett, Bulldog, and Double Trouble in their entirety. The eighth, ninth and tenth novels in the wise cracking, back slapping, babe magnet Dev Haskell series.
Dev Haskell Private Investigator volumes 8-10 (Dev Haskell – Provate Investigator)
By mikefaricy
I have enjoyed the Dev Haskell books I have read so far, I am looking forward to reading more from Mike Faircy
Books 8-10 bring our favorite characters to life in funny and sad situations but Dev always comes out a shining star. There are some very tense moments and scary scenes. And, of course, the witty banter between Dev and Louie and the relationships with Dev’s women “friends” are always a highlight to rollicking scenes we look forward to in every book. Mr. Faricy excels a capturing human actions and emotions at their best and at their worse. Very Highly Recommended.
Book 8 – Crickett
As I breeze through the Dev Haskell, Private Investigator series, I’ve started collecting information on its star. So far, I know that he’s an Iraq and Afghanistan war vet with dark hair, and now I know he is highly allergic to cats. Faricy’s descriptions of the ladies in each book create visuals as do his descriptions of the various male characters. Yet Dev remains an enigma.
This is the most convoluted tale in the series so far. The cast of characters is large and largely dead. Foul play abounds as do lowlifes, crime bosses, and thugs. Dev’s former flame, now calling herself Crickett, is the mother of a 10-month-old baby boy named Oliver. She and Oliver show up, out of the blue, at The Spot. Things go downhill from there as she convinces Dev to help her sometime beau, Daryl Bergstrom, arrested on a drug charge claiming Daryl was framed. Drugs always mean some kind of organized crime. We’re not talking Chicago or New York here; we’re talking St. Paul, Minnesota’s gangsters, but the mob is the mob is the mob.
Who is responsible for the murders? Who is really running this operation? How much will Devlin Haskell have to endure? These questions are mostly answered… but…
CRICKETT has a more cryptic ending that most of the earlier books. Will I learn more in the next book, BULLDOG?
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Book 9 – Bulldog
There’s nothing quite like a funeral, replete with bagpipes playing Amazing Grace, to set the mood and get the tears running down my cheeks. That’s where BULLDOG starts. The deceased is a long-time pal of Dev Haskell, killed for now apparent reason. Of course, Dev gets drawn into investigating. BULLDOG left me feeling verklempt by the time I had finished just two pages. Sad just doesn’t cover it.
Dev’s pal, Dermot Gallagher, is murdered for no apparent reason… shot for opening his front door. Detective Norris Manning tells Dev to stay out of the investigation. Of course, Dev agrees to this verbally with no actual intention of following the Manning mandate. Quite a few of the underworld characters from the previous book make their appearance here. The relationships among the criminals becomes moderately less murky as the investigations continue. Although BULLDOG isn’t technically a sequel to CRICKETT, I am happy to say it does flesh out some of what I thought was left hanging.
Everyone needs a little brain candy every once in a while; Dev Haskell is mine. Each book is what I consider to be novelette length and easily readable in one or two sittings. They are mysteries, yes, but they are also generally humorous and sometimes a little bizarre. BULLDOG broke that mold for me. It is emotionally fraught and, like Dev Haskell, I wanted revenge.
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Book 10 – Double Trouble
When will he learn? Dev made the mistake of dating sisters, committed the worst of faux pas, and is now living to regret it. And, wouldn’t you know it, the sisters, Lissa and Candy Flaherty, have a brother Tommy that is a pretty slick character.
After reading BULLDOG, I’m finding that DOUBLE TROUBLE is back on the humorous track. Sometimes the humor is a bit on the dark side since one of Dev’s clients is Andy Lindbergh, president of C. Lindbergh Memorials… as in caskets and funeral home supplies. The other client, Royal Baker, President and CEO of Tri-Cort Services, Limited, an online escort service, is definitely a privileged shady character.
DOUBLE TROUBLE is filled with hairbrained schemes and enough con men to make your head spin. This one will surely make you laugh out loud as you follow the antics of this strange cast of characters as they interact in the underworld of St. Paul, Minnesota.