Loose Ends: A Private Investigator Crime and Suspense Mystery Thriller (California Corwin P. I. Mystery Series Book 1)

7/2005, San Francisco, CA (Valencia). California “Cal” Gale Corwin (f, PI, California Investigations) called & set up an appointment with Miranda “Mira” Almone Sorkin (35, mother, warehouse mgr., divorcee, nee Herndon, Stanford, Pharm D). Her daughter Talia Sorkin (10, latchkey kid) had been kidnapped & the kidnappers wanted a ransom for her return. Talia was not returned to mom. Cal went to the North Bay Distributors (Rankin pharmaceuticals) where Mira works. He spoke to Bill Clawson (security guard, retired Lieutenant, Chicago PD) about security & the layout of the place. There was a huge drug heist at the warehouse. Cal went to speak with several low life drug dealers. Back to Bill’s place because he did not show up for work. The landlady Ms. Gainer let her in. Bill had been dead for quite some time. Cal took Malcolm “Meat” Estridge & Mason “Manson” Estridge to talk to Phil Lattimer (security guard). Will Talia be returned? What about the drug heist? Haven’t heard this saying since me/adopted sister found out we were “latchkey kids.” I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one. A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written who-dun-it crime book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great who-dun-it crime movie, or better yet a mini TV series. To be continued. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars. Thank you for the free ebooksdaily; Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas; Amazon Digital Services LLC; book Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

D D VAN DYKE first book in his California Corwin PI series. This is LOOSE ENDS, intrigue, well written, descriptive, well developed characters. One feels like they know Cal, short name she goes by, from the hippie one her mother gave her, California. If she has no case, she has bad habits. She receives a note, shaky handwriting, she follows it up. Daughter been kidnaped two days ago. What follows is a good taut story you will enjoy reading. Looking forward to more in this series.

I enjoyed this book to a degree. I did like the main character and the hacker guy. The storyline was good but I felt like it was missing something. While I thought it should have been very exciting, I didn't think it was. The pace seemed a bit off. Maybe it wasn't my cup of tea. I haven't read anything by this author before and I don't know if I will again.

This was an interesting novel, true to its name. When it comes to mysteries, I'm hard to please. I don't want one that I have solved halfway through the book, nor do I want one where the author pulls a rabbit out of a hat at the end because he kept some vital piece of info from the reader. "Loose Ends," like the best of the Agatha Christie novels, has little clues scattered throughout that the reader is putting together alongside the main character, making for an engaging mystery, It's set in San Francisco in 2005. California, "Cal" Corwin, is former San Francisco police officer turned PI after being injured in a bomb blast that killed the bomb tech she was sent to assist. After she filed a lawsuit that turned many of her fellow officers against her, she used money from the judgement to open her own private investigation firm. As the story opens, an investigative reporter has referred a new client to Cal; the woman's young daughter has been kidnapped, she claims, but there are things about the mother that just don't add up. I won't say anything else about the plot except that, unlike the usual police procedurals, the story is not wrapped up neatly with a big bow at the end. There are still questions left unanswered and (possibly) Bad Guys who get away with criminal acts. Since this book was the first in a series to come, it's not surprising that there is room at the end for the further adventures of Cal Corwin. I loved the characters in this novel. All of them are fully realized, three-dimensional people, complete with their own egos and doubts, and that comes through even though this novel, like the best of the classic noir books, is in first person. It's tough to write a first person book that manages to bring through characters instead of caricatures (if you don't believe me, try reading The Devil Wears Prada or Fifty Shades, but ONLY if you can get them for free...don't waste your money on those). "Loose Ends" does deliver, however. Corwin is an intriguing woman; a little damaged (physically and emotionally) but still on a fairly even keel and with a sharp mind. I got this book for free as most people did in order to have a glimpse into this series, and I can say that I would be willing to read more about Cal Corwin.

We picked this one up as a free book on kindle some time ago, or I should say, that someone picked it up for me, and sent it to my kindle. Unfortunately as so many things tend to do, this one got lost in the crush of real life for a bit, but when I saw it in my archive as I was setting up my new kindle, I dug it out and decided to make this book my first text read on the new device, and I am so glad I did. For any fan of PI fiction, this has everything. An Ex-Cop, turned Private Investigator. Nebulous Russian mob connections, seedy drug dealers trying to make it big. We have a Mysterious stranger, and of course a missing girl in danger. The main character is a strong,disabled female lead with a gambling addiction, and a dry sense of humor that will keep you turning pages. My only complaint, and you knew there had to be at least one, is that the Deus Ex Macina clanks a bit heavy in the last five pages or so, but that did not manage to ruin my enjoyment of the book, and I urge you not to let it keep you from trying this one out. On the whole, I was happily surprised by this tarnished gem. GG

It’s so cool to start a new book that turns into an excellent read. This is a new series I just started. I really enjoyed the story, characters, suspense, and of course, Cal Corwin, Private Eye! Can’t wait to read book2!

We seem to have a surplus of American female detectives that are, gun toting dead shots, formula one drivers,black belts to boot and highly intelligent that make their male comrades look like wimps, They rush into danger where mere mortals would fear to tread. Apart from this I finished the book, although there were a couple of loose ends I certainly wouldn't call it a cliffhanger (like too many greedy American writers dish out) the main story was concluded. I did read some readers didn't like the car chases, I do agree with some very unnecessary sections of details o roads travelled, but I thought the actual chases was well written and exciting, so authors can't p[lease us all. I did read all of the book, I thought it was a reasonably good read and thank the author for the free copy.

Interesting read but didnt hold my attention as well as her other books. The way it was written kinda gave you a really good idea of what is coming in the next few paragraphs

シリーズの始まりなので女性私立探偵カリフォルニア（キャル）・コーウィンの成り立ちが語られる。サンフランシスコの刑事だったキャルはテロリストの仕掛けた爆発物の処理で その教育経験のないまま助手を命じられ、作業中の爆発で処理担当は死亡、キャルも右頬と右腕を負傷して入院している間に上司が「当人が命令に背き勝手に助手をした」と報告したので首になってしまった。不服を申し立てた裁判に勝ったものの復帰できず、それでも持ち前のポジティブな性格で愛車スバル インプレッサを駆って私立探偵業を楽しんでいた。クロニクル誌の記者コール・セイジの紹介だと35歳の女性ミランダ（ミラ）・ソーキンから電話があり出向くと10歳の娘タリアが誘拐されたという。ミラは大手の薬品会社に勤める薬剤師で、製品倉庫に入る暗証番号と指紋コピーを出せ、と脅迫され、金曜日に提出したが日曜日になっても倉庫番は異常なしというし、娘は帰ってこず、で、なんとかしてくれ、と泣きつかれた。キャルは当該倉庫地区のセキュリティを監督するビル・クローソンに相談して協力態勢を整えた。二人で張り込み中、週明けの夜中に倉庫泥棒が現れ、追跡したが失敗し、日を置かずビルが殺された。大規模な薬売買情報を求めて怖い連中のなかに入り込んだが、キャルが白人だがメキシコのクオーターだと言うのが裏社会の聞き込みに役立ち、併せてコンピュータおたくのミッキー・タッカーという強力な助っ人がいて裏情報を手に入れながら薬の闇ルートに分け入る。キャルには知り合いのコワモテM&M兄弟を使って乱暴させたり、刑事を騙って強引に聴き込みをしたりと結構やりたい放題のところがあり、その意味で面白い。ところが目出度く少女タリアを救い出して散りばめられた謎をそろそろ纏めにかかるか、というページの８０％あたりで突然話が終わり、あとの２０％は別のキャル短編が現れる。ホンマにルーズエンドやなあ、となんだかよくわからないが、登場人物たちがそれぞれ面白いのでこのままおさらばするには勿体ないキャラなで、次作も見てみようか、という気になる不思議な作家だ。

I loved the main character, she is really unique. But so are the side characters. Good story too. And free. So read it, you'll not be disappointed.

Fast paced an interesting read. Couldn't put it down.

Very readable, love Cal the main character. She's believable and human, scars and gambling addiction laid bare. But in spite of not "doing it by the books", she's a very just person. The means justifies the end!

It was a good read and will satisfy crime drama fans.