Friends, and Other Perishables

Carl Jacobs Mystery #1

by Dale Whisman

In this tale of misplaced trust, betrayal, and greed, a dedicated family man tries to balance his home life with his increasingly dangerous career. Carl Jacobs, a private investigator, agrees to meet an informant, Jimmy "The Blue" Jay - a man Carl grew up with. As soon as Carl arrives, Jimmy starts shooting at him from a dark alley. Carl is wounded but returns fire, and Jimmy is killed. Now Carl has to find out why Jimmy tried to murder him. After more attempts are made on Carl's life, he learns that some people prove ruthless when millions of dollars are at stake. And some men can be even more ruthless when their families are threatened. Dale Whisman resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

222 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2004

Reviews

[TeriC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!

This book is a really good one, great story, great plot, well drawn characters and even a lot of fun.

[Rebecca Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A private investigator finds himself the target of someone wanting him dead. An informant, he has known his whole life, pulls a gun on him. Others are found dead. Are they targeting him and for what?

The story goes between the mystery and suspense of the unknown targeting the PI to that of his intimate and lovely family. It helps the pace of the story level out yet doesn’t lose the reader.

You also get deep into a PI’s life on the job. What makes this really cool is that a PI is the author so this isn’t guesswork or minimal research done. Makes the story so much better.

The characters were very interesting and varied. The wife, the kids, and the police were all created with depth and had you drawn to them as you read.

I have to be careful here as I don’t want to spoil the mystery for anyone. The plot is well written and keeps you guessing. No, I was unable to figure out who did it which is not normal for me.

Overall, a great plot with great characters. The writing style is very engaging. It’s a must read mystery.


Note: I received this book during free download days on Amazon with no expectation of a positive review.

[Lorin Cary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dale Whisman is a former PI who did a lot of insurance fraud investigations, and that background gives this novel authenticity. Carol Jocobs is a PI who does a lot of insurance fraud investigation and here he really steps into it. The opening of the book captures your attention and Whisman provides lots of obstacles as Carl uncovers a massive insurance fraud scheme. He is the target of a hitman as a result and several murders add to the froth. Carl's wife Sherry (coincidentally Whisman's wife is Sherry) is a strong character and she and their two children add a nice dimension to the novel. An ugly detective named Sweet plays a role as well. (I think Whisman had a good time writing this.) The procedural details of the investigation are well done and Carl solves problems rather than having odd coincidence bring about solutions. It's a good read.

[Lori Henrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carl gets a message from his childhood friend Jimmy. Jimmy wants to see Carl, but when Carl gets to the meeting spot someone tries to kill Carl. Carl fires back hitting the shooter. When he realized he just shot Jimmy he is devastated, but wonders why Jimmy would have tried to kill him.

Carl is a private detective by trade. His wife works for an insurance company, which happens to be Carl's biggest client. When he starts working on a couple of cases for the insurance company he discovers that there might be a link to those cases and why Jimmy tried to kill him.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I will need to read another one in order to decide how well I like the series.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seems to be a man's version of Twilight. Cheap thrills and a flat end. The story kept me reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen, but the book mainly consisted of guns, knives, murder and a few beautiful women. The main character seemed fairly well thought out, but the rest were shallow and unrealized. When I read the author's description at the end, I realized that this was a book he had written about himself (or how he perceived himself.) Definitely a first novel. I probably won't read any more by him, but I might have enjoyed the book more had I been of the male persuasion.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The protagonist is a PI with a wife and two daughters. He normally works insurance fraud cases but after he kills one of his informants who is trying to shoot him he becomes involved with the murders and the reasons for them. The author has a background as an insurance investigator and is obviously well acquainted with violence because his narrative is filled with believable descriptions of it. The novel is predictable but not poorly done.

[Sonja Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good first novel for Dale. A good murder/mystery with a few twists.

[Therese]

$0.0

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

ehh

[Brandyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

not bad for a first book. but there seemed to be something missing...