The Unpleasant Neighbor by A B Stonebridge

The Unpleasant Neighbor : Rafe Valez Mystery Book 2 by A. B. Stonebridge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this short mystery from Net Galley in exchange for a review, and I'm very happy with my choice. A B Stonebridge has written three short mysteries about the character Rafe Valez. He's a private detective who has had a monetary stroke of luck which enables him to take only the cases he really wants to investigate. In The Unpleasant Neighbor, Sheila Gilbert hires Rafe to find out what her husband, Brad, is up to. Turns out Brad is up to no good, and Sheila intends to divorce him using evidence Rafe collected against him. Sheila and Brad are a very unhappy couple, and when they argue, they do it loudly enough and often enough to attract the attention of their neighbors. When Sheila and Brad's bodies show up hidden in the woods with very little forensic evidence to point to who did them harm, Rafe gets involved in finding the murderer.


This book is the second book in the Rafe Valez series, and it left me wanting more. Not only is Rafe Valez an interesting character operating with a little luck and just this side of shady (how he got his windfall is evidence of that), but all the characters in this book were people we all probably know in some form or another and like to gossip about if dirty laundry is being aired. Stonebridge has a talent for using sarcasm and humor in ways that move the story forward and keep a. reader always wanting more. I would love to see a collection of Rafe Valez stories bundled into one longer book. In the meantime, I'll settle for getting each story as an individual book. Rafe Valez is definitely a character to follow, and I look forward to reading lots more of him. I'd recommend anyone who likes quirky characters and mysteries to do the same.

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