This was my first book by Jesse Miles. I thought it was the first in the series. I know now it is the third. It’s impressive to me that I didn’t realize it was third in the series. I read a lot of series and they tend to give you clues that a previous book or books were written. Looking back, this one had them but they were so well written they blended in to me. I liked Jack Salvo. He does questionable, sometimes outright illegal things to get the puzzle pieces. He knows when to pick fights and when to hold his cards close, keep his head down and dance. I also found him to be intelligent, fair and compassionate yet pragmatic. It’s a good mix, and a realistic one, for a PI. I’m not going into the mystery because there would be no reason for you to read the book then. The mystery was well done, with a few suspects and convoluted enough to keep me guessing. The author knew the area the story was set in and I had no problem in mapping it in my head. The book left me interested in the other Jack Salvo books. I would say go for it. ( )

I have been a fan of the Jack Salvo series by Jesse Miles for quite some time. I read the second book, Church of Spilled Blood, a few years ago and was completely impressed that it was self-published, since I had not read many indie authors up until then. I immediately bought and read the first book in the series, Dead Drop, which was just as good. They can each be read as stand-alones, as I didn't even realize I had read them out of order.

I heard from the author a couple months ago that his third novel was close to being published and he graciously sent me a print copy to review. The main character, Jack Salvo, is just as entertaining as he was in the previous two books: a tenacious private eye who also teaches philosophy one night a week at a community college. His snarky internal and external voice are always a pleasure to read, and he develops the other characters in this novel very well.

Jack is hired by a wealthy family to locate one of three sisters who has gone missing (the titular "Middle Sister"), and he finds himself on the trail of series of disreputable characters in his efforts to find out what happened to her. The author has done an amazing job, once again, in his descriptions of the Los Angeles and surrounding area settings, and creates quite visual pictures in his writing. The plot unfolds gradually as Jack follows the clues, and the characters he meets, to solve this mystery; and the ending was completely unexpected, always a plus in my book (so to speak). I do feel the very end of the book was not quite as tightly resolved as I might have wanted to see, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story as a whole.

I would recommend this entire series from indie author Jesse Miles, and am still surprised that it hasn't been picked up by a major publisher. I could see it doing very well with those who enjoy the Nils Shapiro series by Matt Goldman (Gone to Dust) and the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais.


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This was the first book that I have read by Jesse Miles and I hope it will not be the last one I ever read by him. This reminded me of an old style private detective novel that is set in modern time. I really like Jack. He has a great personality and such a wry sense of humor. He is hired to find a missing young adult female but she is not found alive. He then decides that he is going to find out why she either committed suicide or was murdered. I really enjoyed how this all pans out. I received a copy of this book from Smith Publicity for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )