Double Take

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Five days was an eternity with a missing person; forty-eight or even seventy-two hours was the cut-off for a good chance of finding the person alive. But five days was still something to work with. Madison could help bring another person safely home. Finding someone who was kidnapped or lost or just needed help to get home was so fulfilling, it was like having a life’s purpose she’d never known she'd been without.

WHAT'S DOUBLE TAKE ABOUT?
Madison is approached by Travis, the desperate boyfriend of Barrett Brown, a reporter for an almost impossibly-small newspaper who's been missing for five days. He's afraid she's been abducted, he's afraid she's being tortured or worse, and is show more about to die.

Madison is dealing with some medical issues and just finished a case that took her out of state, but how can she possibly leave this to the police (who don't seem to believe that Barrett didn't just ghost Travis)? So she jumps into action—retracing Barrett's steps, figuring out what story she was working on—assuming that's the reason she's missing.

This leads Madison down a twisty path into a criminal conspiracy that she can only see the barest outlines of—and might end up leading her into grave danger.

While she's searching, Madison has to deal with someone having her followed, the aforementioned medical issues, and a truly inconvenient spark of attraction between her and Travis. Who might not be the great boyfriend he gives the initial impression of being.

MY ALMA MATER
Chapter One takes place on the campus of the University of Idaho—so you know Breck gets extra points from me for that. Would've been an easy 5-Star read if the whole book had taken place there—or at least most of it.

But no, Madison has to go home to San Diego—sure, it's hard to blame her, San Diego in October has got to be more pleasant—wrecking my hope for a PI novel on campus.

MADISON'S DEVELOPMENT
After the events of Anonymous, Madison's picked up some notoriety—she's become a go-to for missing persons. This is great, she'd been bemoaning how all she'd been doing was insurance work in Anonymous, and it wasn't that fulfilling—but as we see in the above quotation, she's finding satisfaction in her work. It's also nice to see that she's getting some attention, you frequently get the idea in P.I. fiction that the work is largely unseen.

Another departure from the norm is that Madison's monetarily successful at the moment—the typical PI is scraping by. Not Madison—at least not now.

The focus on missing persons reminded me of Elvis Cole, just up the coast from Madison—but despite some wealthy clients, you don't get the idea that he's as successful. He definitely doesn't seem to get the notoriety. So, I guess I have to update my one sentence description of Madison from being "Kinsey Millhone for today" to add "with an Elvis Cole twist."

It's good that she's got money coming in, because this self-employed, and likely under-insured woman has medical bills. I wasn't sure what to think of the discussion of Madison's past cancer in the first book, but seeing it here, I'm seeing what Beck's intention is and I like the way it gives the character another dimension and unconsciously (sometimes, anyway) shapes her actions.

MADISON AND BARRETT
One of the ways you can see the appropriateness of the title is that from the first conversation with Travis, Madison starts noting all the coincidental parallels between what's she's told about Barrett and what she knows about herself. This can go one of two ways, typically—either this becomes a large hurdle for the protagonist doing their job, or it's a motivator. This largely serves as a motivation—but it also causes a couple of problems for Madison—at most it's a distraction occasionally.

It's arguable that she gets invested pretty quickly because of the parallels, but not by much. Also, Breck finds a way to use this sense of them being so similar in both a positive and negative way for Madison—and then adds a new layer to this later in the book. It didn't go the way I expected, fully, but I appreciated it.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT DOUBLE TAKE?
I was pretty enthusiastic about Anyonymous, and this cemented my initial impression of Breck and Madison. I was enjoying this the entire time, but toward the end, Beck shifts into high gear and...wow. It's the kind of ending where you find yourself leaning forward as you read, because somehow that helps you get to what happens next faster; you don't hear the music/people/animals around you; and your eyes move just too slowly. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating there, but woe betide anyone who attempted to distract me during the last quarter or so of the book.

This is a fast-paced book. The main action starts Monday evening and ends in the pre-dawn on Friday. In that time, Madison has to find a missing (hopefully still alive woman), figure out why she's missing/abducted (which leads to a larger criminal act), deal with some personal (some of which should have been dealt with already) and medical issues—and maybe catch a wink or two of sleep. All that in a short amount of time helps explain a couple of the blunders she makes—but those help ground and humanize her, so who cares about them? Especially the way Breck uses those mistakes.

And, hey, she still quotes Nero Wolfe twice. University of Idaho and Wolfe quotations—it's really like Elizabeth Breck wrote this for me. A delusional thought, I realize, but I like my delusions.

I do wish Breck had made it a little more difficult for the reader to see the things that Madison didn't/put together. I get why she did that, and it was probably the right move, but I still would've preferred to work a little harder. That's the sole issue I have with Double Take, and who knows, any other day, I might have considered that a feature instead of a bug.

Even if you're not me, if you're a fan of P.I. novels, I don't see how this novel/author/character/series doesn't appeal to you. Madison's tough, smart, lucky (and knows how important that is), and committed. Brisk and assured writing. A nice bit of sleuthing to find a pretty clever crime (committed by some people who really shouldn't ever get into criminal activity—and some who seem born to it). My only regret is that I have to wait for the third book in this series to be published before I can dive in. show less

The author is writing from a “true life experience”, since she herself is a licensed private investigator. Her experience and knowledge made the main character of Madison Kelly real and believable. I really like it when the author can make each and every step of the story ring true. I read [Anonymous]... the first book in this series and absolutely loved it so when I received a copy of [Double Take] to review I was very excited and was not in any way disappointed. I don’t see how Elizabeth Beck could have possibly improved Madison Kelly with this one...but she did. The twist and turns in the storyline remained as tight as the ever and the conclusion is even more heart pounding than the first time. This author has certainly earned show more her place on my “favorites list”.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest opinion. The views expressed by this reviewer are entirely my own. show less

A mystery, yes, but with elements of self-discovery, self-realization, acceptance and other human life dimensions that assist in resolving the mystery. Madison Kelly, a well-respected private detective, is hired by Travis Moore to find his girlfriend Barrett Anna Brown, an investigative reporter who has been missing for five days, or has she? According to Travis, the police have done little, so he needs her well-known expertise. As the investigation continues, the author poses many questions in the readers mind—why did Barrett go missing, is someone responsible, and many others in this intriguing and captivating read. Madison must resolve many obstacles thrown at her and possible harm, through trickery, careful planning and thought to show more find Barrett hopefully alive. One of the first questions is, did Barrett disappear voluntarily? Clues are gathered quickly but they present further possible hurdles and crimes, which add to the investigative plot. With many twists and turns plus some surprises, the mystery might be resolved but to whose satisfaction, since multiple characters become involved—some for the good and some not working for the betterment of the people they represent. Is this connected to the larger story Barrett was chasing thus changing the focus of the investigation (or was she involved in the larger story) and is Madison satisfied with her investigation in this multi-layer mystery?
One note, the first two chapters are the resolution of Madison’s first case to set the background of her investigation skills, thought process and resolve.
The author Elizabeth Breck is a licensed private investigator thus understands and is able to portray realistically the mindset of the fictional detective Madison Kelly as she might proceed in true life. An intriguing and rewarding read. Highly recommended!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest opinion. The views expressed by this reviewer are entirely my own. show less

Travis Moore hires Private detective Madison Kelly to find Barrett, his missing girlfriend. In less than a day, she discovers that Barrett is a reporter investigating several mysterious deaths, and Travis lied about his relationship with Barrett. At the same time, a team begins to follow her everywhere she goes around town. As if that isn’t enough, Madison sees signs her cancer has returned, and her surfer boyfriend, Dave, is irritated by her standoffish behavior and a little jealous of the handsome client.

Breck begins Double Take with an attention-grabbing incident and deftly sets up the missing person scenario. Following that, however, the pace slows, and the plot bogs down in self-talk and soul-searching. The book is easy to put show more down through the middle two-thirds, but it becomes more interesting as the story moves toward the conclusion.

Madison is an inconsistent character I found difficult to like. Throughout the book, she is depicted as a self-absorbed goody-two-shoes. For example, she apologizes to the tree when it is necessary to break off a branch to save her and Barrett’s lives. (I’m sorry, tree. … I hope this doesn’t hurt. … Thank you for your service.) Yet Madison’s vanity results in a young woman’s death and the life-threatening crisis she and Barrett face. She develops compelling evidence of murder and insurance fraud but refuses to give the information to the police because she wants to be the person who solves the case and gets the credit.

On balance, Double Take is an interesting but not compelling murder mystery. show less

2022 book #58. 2021. Madison is a PI in San Diego. She's hot on the trail of a missing woman. Old guys are probably not the demographic the author is after but I thought the story was good although Madison thinks an inordinate number of things are cute.

I could hardly put this book down from page 1 onward. I haven’t read a book this fast in a while. It was very well written.

I tried a couple of times to get through this book but it never took. Neither the story nor the writing style caught my attention. I'm sure that there are readers out there who will enjoy it, but it wasn't me.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to sample a digital ARC on NetGalley.