Book Review and Giveaway: Cable Car Mystery by Greg Messel

Media Type: Paperback
Title: Cable Car Mystery
Series: Sam Slater Mystery Book 6

On the hottest day of the year in San Francisco in 1959, Private Detectives Sam and Amelia Slater are contemplating fleeing the city for their Stinson Beach house. However, when Sam decides to take a cable car ride to run some errands on the lazy summer day, he’s suddenly thrust into the spotlight when he rescues a woman who fell onto the busy street. Sam pulls the mysterious red haired woman out of the path of an oncoming cable car in the nick of time. The entire incident is captured by a newspaper photographer who splashes Sam’s heroics all over the front page. Sam is troubled not only by his new status as a city hero, but by the rescued woman’s plea for help. She whispers to Sam that she didn’t fall from the cable car but was pushed. She is frightened and disappears into the crowd before Sam can get more details. A San Francisco newspaper launches a campaign to find the mystery woman and Sam hopes to cross paths with her again. Meanwhile, Amelia is troubled by the sudden disappearance of her elderly neighbor. Two thuggish younger men who now occupy the house next door say he took a sudden trip. One night when she’s alone Amelia grabs a flashlight and finds some disturbing clues in her neighbor’s garage. What really happened to her neighbor? Amelia is determined to find out. Award winning author Greg Messel spins a new tale of intrigue in Cable Car Mystery, the sixth book in the Sam Slater Mystery series set in at the 1950s in San Francisco.
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I have to say this was a refreshing week for me in the reading department. I received this lovely book a few weeks ago and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series, so this can definitely be read as a standalone, but there are definitely references to the other books if you feel inclined to read more about Sam Slater.

All of the characters are well developed and interesting, and the story flows flawlessly. The dialogue is great and the San Francisco backdrop is fun to read about. Sam and his wife Amelia run a PI firm and get caught up in the Cable Car Mystery when Sam saves a lady after falling from a car. Their research into the woman he saved brings about new questions and a problem to solve.

Amelia’s character has her own story line with her neighbor and it compliments the main story well. I really enjoyed the banter between her and Sam, especially since the newspaper pictures put him in a risque position with the woman he saved. There is just enough background information and references to previous books (aka character history) that keep the story moving without rehashing everything from the rest of the series.

This was a fun, short mystery that I would highly recommend to all readers. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author!

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.