Back in Black

Back in Black by Rhys Ford was given in exchange for an honest review. The boys are back Cole, Jae, Ichi, Bobby and Mike are a little older, wiser and still snarky as ever. You have mystery, love, action and ingenuity on how to take a bad guy threatening your life down. Cole,known for anything that can go wrong will, McGinnis finds a former client dead and hence the task of finding her killer without getting himself killed too. I absolutely loved this book. I have been so excited about this book as soon as it was announced and it did not disappoint. It is a wonderful comeback series that I simply cannot wait for more.

Cole McGinnis is back in business and I’m here for it. Like other fans of the series, I was excited when Rhys Ford announced the birth of McGinnis Investigations. In book 1, “Back in Black” Cole and company are back and better than ever. All the favorite characters are back, along with some other favorites from another series. In Back in Black, Cole is a few years removed from Dirty Heart and is now happy and settled in his marriage to his beloved Jae. There’s still a lot of heat in their relationship, but also the warm comfort and happiness of clicking with the other half of your heart. Seeing Cole and Jae like this made Back in Black feel the comfort of coming home after a long day. The dynamic between Cole and Bobby is the same sarcastically affectionate relationship as they chase down leads on the latest crazy mystery that leads Cole into totally Cole-like hairy situations. Dell O’Byrne is also back, working with Cole as her consultant. The groundwork for a friendship between them is set and I can’t wait to see this friendship grow as they work together to solve future cases. As always, Rhys Ford weaves her words so exquisitely to tell a fantastic tale. She also included delightful Easter Eggs that were so much fun to discover. I found myself not wanting to put it down, but also forcing myself to slow down and make it last.

I rate this with 2.5 stars. I was really excited to have the opportunity to read this ARC of Back in Black. Unfortunately, the actual mystery portion of the book was a small portion of the story intermixed with excessive and sometimes redundant descriptions of everything to do with LA, the food, and all of the relationships of the characters, their backstories, and their surroundings. The editor failed to cut unnecessary prose that distracts the reader from the story. I started to skim through some of the descriptions to get to the core story and actual action. An example, is there is a scene in the parking area of JoJos. Almost everyone can envision the parking lot scene by just describing it as having ‘tire-destroying potholes’. Instead, the description is very long and includes how potholes are made. How the potholes are made is completely unnecessary to the action taking place in the parking lot and distracted/frustrated me as a reader.

That said - the mystery was good, if sparse. If the author and editor can take an appetite surprise the on adjectives and descriptions in the next book and focus more on mystery/action - I will happily buy it. Especially since I generally love Rhys Ford’s work (I have 90% of her books) and enjoyed the previous Cole McGinnis Series. I received a copy of the book as an ARC for an honest review.

I loved Back in Black. I mean what’s not to love, a revisit with Cole and Jae, humour, murder, mystery, a little romance. I loved going back. It was like being back in Cole’s investigating world, all the troubles that just seem to find him and his way of going in no matter what. Of course I loved all the little Easter eggs in the story, not telling any, but I liked finding them. It was fast-paced and interesting. I didn’t solve the mystery – I never do, but that’s okay, because it’s always solved at the end. I loved that there was lots of Ichi, Bobby, Mike and Mad Dog & Junior. I’ve had the book in my library waiting since October and it was worth the wait. Can’t wait to listen to it either, since that’s how I found out about the book. I totally recommend this book.

I loved the Cold McGinnis series, I was sad when it was over. When I found out there would be a spin off, I was SUPER excited. And I had reason to be very excited. The story takes up with the lives of Cole and Jae-Min Kim and it actually starts a lot like the very first McGinnis book. I loved that.

The thing I love about these books is the investigation aspect. It build and builds. This spin off is no different and has a great set supporting characters. I can't wait for more McGinnis Investigations!

You could read this book as a stand alone. I mean... you COULD, but I think you'd really love all the back story from the first series.