Liam Quinn has had better days. Someone wants him dead, but he’s not sure if it’s the aging TV actor, the aging mobster, or one of a bevy of local gals who have him in their sights. The desert’s a tough place, and Arizona is a long way from his beloved Philadelphia. The Nora situation is more convoluted than ever, a hippie with a mean streak has a gun to his head, two goons are digging his grave … grave and the last time he stepped in the ring, some guy knocked him out without even touching him. Still, Quinn would tell you it beats dealing with his love life and family back in Philly, at least marginally. And that’s what happens — well, that and a dead guy — when Quinn Goes West.
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Needing a break from all the books I promised to review, I wanted something different to get lost in and the Liam Quinn Mystery Series was the ticket. This author is good enough to be one of the big boys. He is talented and can write multiple storylines that merge well the new storyline additions in each book. The timeframe is continuous, usually picking up where the last book ends. The characters are actually people you know, OK, maybe not all the mobsters, but the regular cast. They are realistic, no Hollywood garbage, and they get hurt without a fairy or angel to save them. There is humor, not just smartalec Quinn, but good humor, too. I recommend getting a bunch of these books and just chainreading them; they’re hard to stop as I discovered when I ran out of the books in my library. So if you like Wambaugh, Remington Steele, Moonlighting or Breaking Bad or Weeds, you will love Quinn, too.
Quinn Goes West #3 – This book picks up four days after Kicks ends. Man, the stuff that happens to Quinn. Still entertaining and interesting storylines, along with the same cast of characters and the new additions per story. Still realistic, although the author doesn’t know what size ten acres is and tries to pass that amount off as vast, but no one’s perfect. Good kinks to ruin a person’s day. Still good with plenty of humor, and the romance …. 5*
Quinn Checks In #1 – My first read by this author and I am impressed and excited to have found this author. This author should be one of the big names since this book reminds me of the good authors in this genre from the 60s and 70s. The storylines are interesting and fast paced, and the intriguing investigations keeps me wanting to read more of this series and this author’s work. Quinn is a good character; he keeps you on his side with his faults and good heart. His family is well cast and the other supporting characters round out the “family”, which is common in this genre. There is humor and maybe a touch of romance from afar, and the cursing/vulgar language is kept to a minimum. If you like Wambaugh and company, you’ll like Thomson. There’s minor editing needed, like lowercase being used for names/proper nouns/titles, but most won’t notice. I will now start on the second book of this series, which is bad for me since I have other books to read with close deadlines. 5*
Quinn Gets His Kicks #2 – This book picks up about nine months after Checks ends. Another interesting story about Quinn with a few kinks in the fast paced storylines keeping the reader involved. Quinn and fellow characters are interesting and realistic, and easy to understand. I read this book before the update came out so I don’t know how the two versions differ, but I like what I read. The conversation style and continuing sequence is good, unless you read out of sequence causing you to miss a segment of Quinn’s life. There’s still that hint of romance. 4*
Quinn & The Vanishing Bride #4 – This book picks up about six months after West ends. Quinn keeps kickin’. Entertaining and intriguing storylines that keep the reader involved with Quinn and crew. As always, there’s more happening than meets the eye and there’s plenty of humor, not all smartalec. The characters never disappoint and their dialog and actions are realistic. Quinn’s the hero of the series and keeps getting the tarnation beat out of him, but he gets his licks in, too. Good mysteries that the reader can’t help but get involved in solving, but remember, there’s always something thrown in the spokes. If you like series like Breaking Bad or Remington Steele or Moonlighting, you’ll have fun with this series, too. Oh, there is a romance and Mrs. Quinn thinks she’ll have two weddings soon; she wants the rugrats. 5*