Jarvis Mann is a PI in Denver, having worked as one for ten years. As he arrives back at his office, he meets Dennis Gash, who is looking to hire him. Dennis has has one of his most precious Bubble Gum cards, worth over a thousand dollars, stolen from him and he needs to find it before his parents find out. Given how much he charges, Jarvis offers to spend the afternoon with him hunting it down for a reduced fee. Heading back to the road where it went missing, they start by talking to the friends Dennis was playing with. Having spoken to two of them, with the other on holiday, they seem to be no further forward. At this point, instead of continuing to ask questions, Jarvis asks Denn what someone would do with such a card. The answer would be to either keep it or sell it and the only place to sell it in the area is a Collectibles store. Looking there, they find they card, but the owner refuses to give it back. Now, they have to find the culprit and work out how to get the card returned.

This is a relaxed crime and mystery story that is a pleasant introduction to our protagonist Jarvis Mann P.I.. It’s a neat self-contained story that that sets the scene and adds a little mystery to it. I did enjoy the calm and methodical way Jarvis works his way through the case, as well as the reveal of the reasons behind it, along with it finishing on a happier note than might be expected. I did enjoy that the mystery is solved through brain power instead of more physical means. Jarvis makes for an engaging protagonist, as we get a constant stream of dialogue on his thoughts of the world around him. This is also well used by the author to help describe the world around from Jarvis’s point of view.

The layout of the book is fine apart from one problem. The editing and formatting have the story as one single piece of text with no paragraphs or chapters through it. This does make it quite intensive to try and work your way through and definitely hinders being able to fully enjoy the work as you suddenly realise a scene has changed. Overall, this is a good read. I certainly enjoyed it on a second or third run through as I became more used to the writing style.

This book is the first in the series, so if you do enjoy the story and the style, then there are plenty more to read. If you’re looking for a new smart P.I. series, this is probably for you. The book also contains the first two chapters, although still missing paragraphs, of the next novel to give a hint of what is to come.