Review: Toxic Blonde

Review At a Glance

• Title: Toxic Blonde
• My Rating: 4.5
• Genre: Mystery
• Format: Audiobook*
• Publication Date: April 24, 2018
• Author: David Stevers

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Book Blurb

Infidelity pays the bills, so says a wise old private eye. But for PI Johnny Delarosa, his routine cheating spouse case turns into a tangled mess when his client, Mary Ann Bellamy, is run off the road and left for dead. Her husband, the owner of a cutting-edge aerospace technology firm, puts his career and marriage at risk by having an affair with his senior executive, the sexy, enigmatic Keira Kaine—the most brutal femme fatale to ever travel the pages of crime fiction. When a whistle blower appears, along with the FBI, Russian mobsters, and an eccentric computer hacker, the case weaves through a maze of surprises that lead to a violent and stunning climax. Delarosa, along with his assistant, Katie, and partner, Mike, must learn who he can trust before the case turns into a homicide—his own.

My Thoughts

Toxic Blonde is a brilliant followup to Auburn Ride. Another great mystery/thriller, with tons of action but enough intrigue and character development to keep the reader grounded. Let me explain.

I love thrillers because they are easy reads that speed by. They are real page turners with constant action and nonstop plots, but not a lot of subtle puzzle solving opportunities. Like old school crime noir, Toxic Blonde takes its time building characters and subplots while events move the story along at a good pace.

Full of dark corners and undercover disguises, David Stevers brilliant series will take you back to the feeling of Agatha Christie in a modern day setting. Just imagine what Hercule Poirot could do with an iPhone and GPS tracking.

I’m specifically impressed to be so invested in a male/female relationship that isn’t essentially romantic. While there is a hint of attraction between Katie and Delarosa and Katie have more of a mentor/mentee bond, with Katie helping to push the “set in his ways” detective to be better. So interesting and wonderfully different.

Bill Lord once again shines as a narrator. I have a little issue with his performance of female characters. This could be just me, but I feel like men can often make female characters sound less intelligent through their voice inflections. I think they are attempting to make their voices take on a more feminine quality, but end up sounding a little flighty or clueless. This is only occasionally, and overall, the performance is great. I forgot I was listening to an audiobook.

All mystery l overs should give this series a chance. I have no idea where this is going in the future, but I know I’m going along for the ride.

*Special thanks to David Stevers, Jess the Audiobookworm, and Cinder Path Press, LLC for a copy of Toxic Blonde in exchange for an honest review.