Dead-End Detective by Amanda Flower was a fun story, but it felt like it had some holes. It starts off with a bang. Darby's business partner and mentor dies - appears to have been run off a cliff in her car. But she was well-liked and no one knows who would want to hurt her - let along kill her. As a certified P.I. Darby is determined to figure it out, especially since it looks like she may be the number one suspect.

The author did a great job with this primary mystery. The clues were laid out beautifully, and each step was important, even if it wasn't apparent why at first. I really enjoyed following the breadcrumbs and sharing the "ah-ha" moment with Darby. We figured it out at the same time, and it takes some writing skill to make that happen.

The biggest issue I had was some of the side mysteries. I can see why they were mentioned so we could have some background and people to question about Samantha's death, but the one that they ended up solving just made no sense. It was a little too tidy and all forgiven. I'm hoping parts of it come into play in future books in the series though.

Overall, a good start to the series. I feel like I really go to know Darby. There are a couple of cats that keep things light-hearted. But I feel like Tate needs to round out a bit more. I didn't even mention him before now, because he felt like a bit of an afterthought addition at times.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**