Private Investigator Jack Salvo, who also teaches philosophy at a local community college, is hired as a body guard for a group of Russian ballerinas visiting Los Angeles. One of them is kidnapped in front of him as he is immobilized by a taser. When she is returned unharmed, he is determined to find the kidnappers. During his investigation, he grows close to one of the other ballerinas, Yelina. After he discovers the dead bodies of the kidnappers, he is even more curious. Yelina returns to Russia where she is, in turn, kidnapped and Jack is hired to travel there to be the intermediary in paying the ransom. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, a well known church/museum in St. Petersburg, is the scene of the payoff which goes deadly wrong.

The writing style in Church of Spilled Blood is noirish and what I like to describe as Dragnetesque…just the facts. The plot is decent, fast paced, with some twists. For action fans, there is some of that as well. Jack is an honorable man, but willing to work around the law to solve a case.

This is actually the second novel featuring Jack Salvo, but it worked well as a stand alone. ( )

I like Jack Salvo, the nonsense PI main character. The story was fast paced and kept me interested to the very end. I will read more Jack Salvo books in the future. a nice quick read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy for my honest review. ( )

I saw this title as a "read now" on NetGalley, and in spite of the strange title, the description sounded interesting. (The title is in reference an actual cathedral in St. Petersburg called "The Church of the Savior on Splilled Blood" and a climactic scene in the book takes place near it). After falling into the story, when I stopped to take a breath, I couldn't believe this was a self-published debut! It reads like a book written by a much more experienced author, and I was pleasantly reminded of Robert Crais' Elvis Cole series, which I love. The dialogue is realistic and the steps the private detective, Jack Salvo, undertakes to solve the crime are intricate and creative.

I love the fact that the main character is a Philosophy teacher at a community college in L.A. as well as a P.I, that he has a snarky internal and external voice, that the author did not reveal all of the character's back story in the first book, that the plot involved a Russian ballet troupe, and the Los Angeles and St. Petersburg settings. Very enjoyable and well done!! I also read the second title in the series, Dead Drop, which was even better and involved a case of embezzlement gone out of control. There is a third title underway called The Middle Sister, which I'm awaiting eagerly. I have a sneaking suspicion this author and his series are about to be snatched up by a publisher.
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I received a free advance e-copy of this book and have chosen to write an honest and unbiased review. I have no personal affiliation with the author. Jack is a private investigator hired to work as bodyguard for Russian ballet dancers while they are in Los Angeles. Jack Salvo is an interesting PI. He teaches an evening class in philosophy at a community college. One of the girls is kidnapped. From then on the action never quits. Full of action, danger, and suspense from LA to St. Petersburg, Russia. This is a well-written thriller with a great plot and good character development. The story moves right along. I like Jack Salvo and look forward to reading more about him in the future. This thriller is well worth the read. ( )

I enjoyed Dead Drop, which is the first Jack Salvo Novel, and was looking forward to the next in the series. Unfortunately, this story didn't work for me at all.

My biggest problem is with the way the plot plays out. I can't give specifics without spoilers, so I'll keep my explanation vague. My issue is with the kidnapping victim and the absolute absence of questions asked about certain circumstances. Everything surrounding this event lacked any aspect of realism or even normal curiosity. I couldn't get into the story because I couldn't get past that stumbling point, which is the launch for the bulk of the plot.

Then we have a random case thrown in about two-thirds of the way through the book. It's unrelated to anything else, resolves quickly, and doesn't add anything to the story. I was left feeling like the author needed a filler to lengthen the book, and so we went off on a separate quest for a little while.

Next we have the characters. Jack Salvo is well developed and interesting. The book is written in first person, from his perspective, so this works out nicely. That being said, my only real problem with book one is actually worse here in book two, and that is the disastrous way in which female characters are portrayed. They are stereotypes at best, and at worst they are one-dimensional, cardboard cutouts. We have a romance of sorts playing out that is clumsy, with the only apparent focus being to give Jack a sex partner and a connection with one of the female characters. I didn't feel the slightest bit of emotion between the two of them. None of the female characters had the least bit of complexity or even a spark of life.

The dialogue is awkward and stilted throughout. Conversations feel contrived. I missed the natural flow of the way people actually speak and relate to one another.

And, finally, the twist at the end had me rolling my eyes. At some point in Jack's investigation, he apparently worked out what was going on, yet we don't get as much as a glimmer until the big twist is revealed. To me, that kind of writing feels deceptive. If the main character isn't surprised, and we've just spent all our time in that character's thoughts, either the character was deceiving himself somehow or the writer was deceiving the readers.

On the bright side, this is a whodunit style crime story that allows readers to play detective along with Jack Salvo. This aspect offers interesting insight into a private detective's methods for solving a case.

*I was provided with an ebook copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.* ( )