Phyllis Entis

Millie's chance to shine.
I had already listened to The Green Pearl Caper, the first book in this detective series, also read by Tom Lennon. I was therefore looking forward to another adventure with Damien Dickens and his secretary, Millie, who is now his wife.

Damien Dickens is entrusted with an old Russian coin by the dying Miss America. He's not sure of the significance of the coin, but it seems that others are interested in it too. Under the cover of finally getting to honeymoon with his new wife, Dickens accepts the task of looking into a surge of criminal behaviour in Florida.
In the last book, Dickens managed to get himself jailed as a suspect, this time he's kidnapped; it seems to be a pretty risky job being a Private Eye in the 70s. The upside of this is that Millie gets a chance to prove herself and I have to say, she makes a pretty good job of it.

It was good to meet old friends from the first episode, one of the advantages of following a series. As I've only recently started reading series, this is a new discovery for me.

Tom Lennon is a reasonable narrator, although some of his accents were a bit dodgy and I find his female voices a bit masculine.

This audiobook contains a bonus short story, Traveler. It's a story about a dog and for me didn't add any value to the book.

The White Russian Caper: 3.5 stars
Traveller: 3 stars… (meer)

Murder in Atlantic City.
This was the first book in a series of murder mysteries featuring Damian Dickens and his lawyer Gus. I enjoyed getting to know 'Dick' and found him to be an endearing character, as he solved the mystery of the death of his former client, Celine Sutherland.

Celine's body was found under the Altlantic City Boardwalk (pier?), soon after she came to Dick for help. He feels responsible for her death and blames himself for not being able to protect her. The clues, however, suggest that Damien Dickens himself, was responsible for her murder and he is duly arrested.
Celine's sister and brother-in-law are owners of a huge tobacco concern and there is much family conniving and interaction, which gives an interesting twist to the plot.

My one issue with the book was the excessive description of what everyone was wearing whenever they entered the story, which became irritating after a while.

This was an enjoyable first book, paving the way for future adventures, ably narrated by Tom Lennon, although his female voices were less convincing. I am looking forward to Book 2.… (meer)