She appeared out of nowhere. A chance meeting. And then she was gone, abducted.The shadow crossed in front of the car so fast I didn’t have time to stop. I hit the brakes hard and swerved into the mud at the side of the road.Looking out through the deluge it was difficult to make out the figure coming towards the driver’s window, but as it came closer I could see it was a girl, just a kid.… just a kid.
Instinctively, my hand went for my gun and rested on the grip as she approached. Her hair, dark, bobbed, was plastered to her head and face. The raccoon eye shadow smeared above her eyes had run in rivulets down her cheeks. And she looked scared, really scared, that much was obvious.
What the hell is she doing out here alone in this kind of weather? I thought as I rolled the window down a half-inch.
“Get in the back,” I yelled at her, and flipped the lock so she could open the door.
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A good background book on Harry Stark. It is filled with action. The storyline shows how Stark begins his life as a private investigator. Characters are well developed.
If you’re already a fan of the Harry Starke series, you’ll love this one. It’s the ‘Genesis’ of his new career. When Harry almost runs over a young woman in a rain storm, he had no idea of what was coming next. The plot is awesome as always and the characters are just as good and ‘bad’ as they should be. I loved reading it and definitely recommend it!
Loving this series!
Right from page one I was hooked!
I am just starting to read the Starke novels. This one has helped me to understand the character, Harry Starke. I would highly recommend this author and this book! HUGE deal for me is this is clean. No language, no sex scenes, just straight up mystery thriller and suspense.
Highly recommend anything from this author.
Genesis Harry Starke Genesis, Book 1, my fourteenth read from author Blair Howard and the first in the Harry Stark Genesis series. Well-written and enjoyable detective fiction I was given a Kindle copy of this book back in January and am just now getting around to voluntarily reading & reviewing it. I look forward to the next book in this series The Raven: Harry Starke Genesis, Book 2. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
Harry Starke is off the police force and trying to decide what to do next when a girl runs out in front of his car. She is in trouble and that helps shape Harry into the next stage of his life: private investigator. I really enjoyed learning how the series began and so enjoyed all the books I have ready by Blair Howard. These are a must read.
I received an electronic copy of Genesis, the first full novel in the Series of Harry Starke, from the author and Mic Bose at a discounted rate. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. The Harry Starke series now boasts 13 novels, so I have a LOT of catching up to do. If you enjoyed the PI novels of the ’60s and ’70s, you will want to read Harry Starke.
The Prequel to this series, simply titled Harry Starke, is an excellent basis for this series, but each novel is stand-alone so reading them all or reading them in order is not necessary. I have reviewed the prequel, as well on Goodreads and Amazon.
Genesis takes up about two months after Harry quits the Chatanooga, Tennessee police force. Harry is still debating his future. He doesn’t need to have an income, but he is quickly finding life too boring for words without a ‘job’.
Harry picks up, in a cold wet deluge, a young lady hitchhiking on a bad stretch of road, and drops her at the Sorbonne, a seedy downtown Chatanooga bar where Harry will be joining his currently unemployed pal Ronnie Hall for their illegal Wednesday night poker game. But the kid, Phoebe Marsh, joins the poker game rather than calling an Uber and seems to have very good luck. She pulls a couple of healthy pots from the underaged nerds playing poker with Ronnie and Harry. She is too long on a bathroom break, however, and while ‘checking’ on her, Harry sees her being dragged out the back door of the bar and tossed into a van. Maybe her luck wasn’t all that good, after all.
Come to find out, Phoebe’s father Frank Marsh was just sentenced to 15 years in prison for setting up a Ponzi scheme that separated many of the local movers and shakers from several hundred millions of dollars. Dollars that have completely disappeared. That puts the disappearance of Phoebe in a whole different light. Harry will try to find out who has her, though he is fairly sure the why comes down to revenge against her father, or acquiring from her father the location of the stolen millions. But detecting without the tools of the police is a much more difficult thing than Harry had anticipated. Even with the hastily scrawled note that Phoebe left on a bar napkin at the poker table, Harry finds his lack of access to police databases limiting his ability to find the girl. And as Phoebe remains missing, Harry finds he needs to involve his former police partner, sidekick, and lover, Lieutenant Kate Gazzara. If her new partner will stay out of the way, perhaps between the two of them they can rescue Phoebe.
And with the help of Ronnie and Tim Clark, one of the young hackers he met over poker chips, Harry is going to set himself up as a legal Private Investigator. If he can solve this first ‘case’.
Harry Starke meets Phoebe during a torrential rain storm. He offers her a ride to get out of the storm. She says she will go where he is going. They join a poker game. Phoebe goes to the rest room and does not return. Harry goes looking for her and sees she is being lifted into the back of a van. Harry , ex police detective, decides to become a PI. There are a number of killings along the way to finding Phoebe. This is an easy read. The story line just flows and keeps you interested.
A superb thriller revealing the creation of Harry Starke’s private eye business after he stopped being a cop. As with all of Blair Howard’s books, this is another well-crafted story, starting with Harry meeting a young girl–who disappears. Who’s behind the girl’s disappearance, and why? A real pager turner for those who enjoy an excellent plot with realistic characters. Blair, bring on another story soon!
I enjoyed this book a lot. I was surprised how fast I read it. I enjoyed reading about the beginning of Harry’s PI job. It was full of excitement. I loved the characters and this made the books I had read earlier come together for me. I will be reading more of this series for sure!
This story takes us back to the beginning of when Harry decided to become a PI. We follow Harry through his first case after leaving the police force and how he met and hired his staff.
If you are a fan of the Harry Starke or Kate Gazarra stories, or if you’re open to becoming one, this is the genesis: significant players, how they fit, some background to later action.
Intense forward movement of drama and painful overlaps, losses, loves, and sometimes allies.
Great read!
Private Investigator. If you are a current fan of Harry Starke, you will certainly get some questions answered. Action packed with new characters and old characters, and of course, a new mystery to solve. As with all of the Harry Starke books, this one is a fast paced page turner. Although you can read the Harry Starke books as stand alone, I would recommend reading them in order.
I am a huge fan of the Harry Starke books, they are always great stories and very exciting with clever investigating.
This book deals with how Harry started as a private investigator and set up his team as the result of a kidnapping and murder that he gets involved in.
The story has loads of twists and turns and lots of great action passages, and beautifully sets up how Harry develops into the successful PI that we know from the previous books.
If you have read any of the books in the series, this is a fascinating look at how Harry started up, and is really a must-read.
I received an advance copy of the book, but have voluntarily written this honest review.