19 Souls

19 Souls (Sin City Investigations Book 1) by J.D. Allen

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Jim Bean isn't his name. Jim is a Las Vegas private investigator hired by a woman looking for her brother. Jim is barely scraping by and he welcomes the retainer but what he does not know - and this is not a spoiler because it is revealed within the first two chapters, and long before Jim finds out - the woman, Sophia, is psychotically obsessed with the “brother,” Dan, and will kill anyone who stands in her way.

The story moves through the paces as the threat that Sophia poses to Dan and everyone else who is convenient for her to achieve her aim of kidnapping Dan and reducing him to a happy relationship with her. Sophia becomes something of a terminator who is incredibly effective at anything she sets her mind to, whether it is hospital software sales or the infiltration and execution of FBI agents. I don't want to make this sound absurd. Sophia is depicted as deadly effective within the realm of reason, and we could easily see this as a movie starring one of the stock female “girl power” actressess, maybe Gina Carrano?

For his part, Jim Bean comes across as a decent guy. There is a backstory that explains his name change. The backstory involves a false rape accusation that ruined the young Jim's dream of joining the FBI. Apart from that backstory, which is there but not crucial to the story, Jim comes across as a rough and tough private investigator, more inclined to use his fists than his mind.

This is the first story in the series. So, we get introduced to the supporting cast: Double O - the huge bounty hunter with a heart of gold; Ely - the computer hacker; Detective Miller - the friendly cop. We might even have seen Jim's love interest in the form of a pretty, tough FBI agent.

I am not much of a mystery/thriller reader. This book seemed like a better than average example of the genre. The characters were likable; the villain was threatening; the pages turned.