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Duck Darley #3
The Tower of Songs
Embracing an improbable stretch of sobriety, unlicensed P.I. Duck Darley has proven himself stronger than the temptations that loom in the shadows of New York City. But the familiar pull of self-destruction lingers like garbage in July when Layla Soto, a sharp-tongued Park Avenue teenager with a family as screwed up as his own, presents a twisted missing-persons case he can’t refuse . . .
Layla saw video evidence of her billionaire father being abducted from their home—at the top of the tallest residential tower on earth. She suspects her grandmother, a Chinese social climber on husband number three, orchestrated the act to silence her only son. Duck agrees to investigate the hedge funder’s disappearance, if only for the rush of a new thrill—and an excuse to reconcile with Cass Kimball, his leather-clad sometime partner who nearly got him killed . . .
As the unlikely duo become immersed in a high-stakes ransom linked to the international drug trade and the delicate relations between the two most powerful nations on earth, survival means trusting no one. Because when confronting absolute power, certain forces will stop at nothing to bury the truth.
Layla saw video evidence of her billionaire father being abducted from their home—at the top of the tallest residential tower on earth. She suspects her grandmother, a Chinese social climber on husband number three, orchestrated the act to silence her only son. Duck agrees to investigate the hedge funder’s disappearance, if only for the rush of a new thrill—and an excuse to reconcile with Cass Kimball, his leather-clad sometime partner who nearly got him killed . . .
As the unlikely duo become immersed in a high-stakes ransom linked to the international drug trade and the delicate relations between the two most powerful nations on earth, survival means trusting no one. Because when confronting absolute power, certain forces will stop at nothing to bury the truth.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2019
About the author
Casey Barrett
4 books31 followersCasey is the author of the Duck Darley crime series. The first in the series, UNDER WATER, will be released by Kensington Books on November 28th, 2017. Book two - AGAINST NATURE - will come out eight months later on July 31st, 2018. And Book three - THE TOWER OF SONGS - is slated for mid-2019 release.
Casey is also a Canadian Olympic swimmer and the co-founder and co-CEO of Imagine Swimming, New York City's largest learn-to-swim school. He has won three Emmy awards and one Peabody award for his work on NBC's broadcasts of the Olympic Games.
Casey is also a Canadian Olympic swimmer and the co-founder and co-CEO of Imagine Swimming, New York City's largest learn-to-swim school. He has won three Emmy awards and one Peabody award for his work on NBC's broadcasts of the Olympic Games.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 22, 2020
Loved this book for the character of unlicensed PI Duck Darley. While struggling with sobriety and his past, he comes across as relatable and a hero to root for. His case takes him on a twisty road that kept me turning the page having to know right up to the thought provoking end.
August 20, 2019
Who doesn’t love an irreverent badass who admits he’s a screw-up? Duck Darley is the most damaged anti-hero you’d never want to meet in a dark corner of New York City. In Casey Barrett’s The Tower of Songs: A Duck Darley Novel (Kensington) East meets West when a Chinese power deal goes terribly wrong. A government is watching, but whose?
A former Olympic athlete and rich kid turned poor by his father’s failed Ponzi scheme, Duck finished a 13-month stint at Riker’s for dealing weed. He’s a junkie and an alcoholic, but he’s trying to kick his bad habits—he’s on the “weed-only wagon” with a few Xanax to smooth the rough edges. A buzz-free life is just not an option.
Duck admits he’s damaged, even diagnosed with PTSD, and knows his former fame in The Post as “Death Darley” precedes him. But he’s given up alcohol—for now at least—so his (unlicensed) private investigations business is looking up. His role of Mistress Dispeller—helping rich women scare away their husbands’ mistresses—has been on the upswing. But Duck is shocked when seventeen-year-old Layla Soto, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world, hires him to find her missing father, hedge fund manager Danny Soto.
He doesn’t want to take the case—he knows the rich get away with their sins. And how is he supposed to find a missing billionaire? But when Layla compares her dysfunctional family to his, he admits he is an expert on “fucked-up-ness,” with his dad in Federal prison and his mother long dead from drowning herself in a bathtub, and can’t resist.
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/08/a-damage...
A former Olympic athlete and rich kid turned poor by his father’s failed Ponzi scheme, Duck finished a 13-month stint at Riker’s for dealing weed. He’s a junkie and an alcoholic, but he’s trying to kick his bad habits—he’s on the “weed-only wagon” with a few Xanax to smooth the rough edges. A buzz-free life is just not an option.
Duck admits he’s damaged, even diagnosed with PTSD, and knows his former fame in The Post as “Death Darley” precedes him. But he’s given up alcohol—for now at least—so his (unlicensed) private investigations business is looking up. His role of Mistress Dispeller—helping rich women scare away their husbands’ mistresses—has been on the upswing. But Duck is shocked when seventeen-year-old Layla Soto, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world, hires him to find her missing father, hedge fund manager Danny Soto.
He doesn’t want to take the case—he knows the rich get away with their sins. And how is he supposed to find a missing billionaire? But when Layla compares her dysfunctional family to his, he admits he is an expert on “fucked-up-ness,” with his dad in Federal prison and his mother long dead from drowning herself in a bathtub, and can’t resist.
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/08/a-damage...
August 27, 2019
The Tower of Songs kept me on the edge of my seat speculating what new disasters would befall Death Darley in his dangerous investigation of what happened to Danny Soto. The Tower of Songs is an addictive mystery thriller!
Seventeen-year-old Layla Soto tracks down Private Investigator, Duck Darley, and proceeds to demand he take the job of finding her missing billionaire dad, Danny Soto. Layla believes her grandmother is the culprit who had her father kidnapped.
Private Investigator, Duck Darley, struggles with his sobriety and has his own recipe for staying sober. At the present, Duck’s meaning of sobriety is his “weed only” mentality. “Death Darley” as some call him, Duck has a sordid, criminal past and maybe that is what makes him a worthy and proficient unlicensed P.I. At first Duck, knowing that he may not be up for the spectacular danger involved in the case of Danny Soto, tries to dissuade Layla and himself from taking the case.
Once Duck decides he will take the case, it’s “game on.” Duck soon finds himself in a perilous position. Every step he takes in this case comes with the threat of death. Can a junkie, weed smoking, burned-out private detective with PTSD stay alive, especially when he learns that Soto’s disappearance has everything to do with the drug trade and the most powerful nations in the world? The Tower of Songs is an addictive mystery thriller!
Seventeen-year-old Layla Soto tracks down Private Investigator, Duck Darley, and proceeds to demand he take the job of finding her missing billionaire dad, Danny Soto. Layla believes her grandmother is the culprit who had her father kidnapped.
Private Investigator, Duck Darley, struggles with his sobriety and has his own recipe for staying sober. At the present, Duck’s meaning of sobriety is his “weed only” mentality. “Death Darley” as some call him, Duck has a sordid, criminal past and maybe that is what makes him a worthy and proficient unlicensed P.I. At first Duck, knowing that he may not be up for the spectacular danger involved in the case of Danny Soto, tries to dissuade Layla and himself from taking the case.
Once Duck decides he will take the case, it’s “game on.” Duck soon finds himself in a perilous position. Every step he takes in this case comes with the threat of death. Can a junkie, weed smoking, burned-out private detective with PTSD stay alive, especially when he learns that Soto’s disappearance has everything to do with the drug trade and the most powerful nations in the world? The Tower of Songs is an addictive mystery thriller!
September 28, 2019
The Tower of Songs is book 3 in author Casey Barrett’s Duck Darley series but this thrilling book reads fine as a stand alone.
I really enjoyed the writing throughout and the NYC setting. The book takes us from NYC Manhattan to Long Beach Island and the author’s descriptive writing easily transported me to these settings. I also enjoyed the fast pace of the story as it twisted and turned. The ending wraps up nicely but also leaves it wide open for the next installment and there was a surprise at the end that I did not see coming. Although this installment reads well as a stand alone I think reading the first book would be helpful in getting a more in depth knowledge of Duck’s background story.
I really enjoyed the writing throughout and the NYC setting. The book takes us from NYC Manhattan to Long Beach Island and the author’s descriptive writing easily transported me to these settings. I also enjoyed the fast pace of the story as it twisted and turned. The ending wraps up nicely but also leaves it wide open for the next installment and there was a surprise at the end that I did not see coming. Although this installment reads well as a stand alone I think reading the first book would be helpful in getting a more in depth knowledge of Duck’s background story.
June 1, 2019
As I enjoy a good whodunnit, this one did not disappoint. Character development, a few turns, some conspiracy and of course sexual tension make for an entertaining, fulfilling read. Not literary genius though not writing at which to scoff. Thanks for the entertaining departure from reality, Casey! And thanks to the Girly Book Club for the pre-release!
October 11, 2019
I've read the first two Duck Darley books, but this one is very special and is a gripping read! I am quite enthused about this series and hope Casey gets back and publishes another one! I can hardly wait!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews