4 out of 4 stars
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Dead Air is a mystery novel by Cliff Protzman. Dead air is the term known for the unforgivable sin of radio silence. While generally caused by unprofessionalism or technical difficulties, sometimes it’s caused by something much more sinister.
When private investigator Glenn “Beck” Beckert hears a long period of dead air on his high school friend’s Pittsburgh radio channel, he’s immediately concerned. This concern is justified when he is called soon after by his security team. There’s been a murder at Z-Rock radio station.
What unfolds has Beck caught up not only in the murder investigation but in an illegal scam which seems to have entangled everyone involved with the radio station. Everywhere he turns, Beck seems to find no real answers. Will he be able to work out who is the one behind it all and clear his friend’s name, or will he lose his own life in the process?
Written in first person, the story is told from Beck’s perspective. This enables the reader to have an insight into his personality and decision making processes. Beck comes across as a realistic character. All his flaws and mistakes are portrayed as well as his loyalty and strong moral standards. Another character which I liked was Irene. As Beck’s friend, Irene uses her technical skills to assist him in his investigation as well as provide emotional support. Irene comes across as a strong-minded, confident female character, and doesn’t fall into the common damsel in distress category. The secondary characters are three dimensional and are portrayed well. I was constantly questioning their motives and I was not sure who was guilty until the very end.
The writing style was professional and the story flowed along smoothly throughout the book. While everything was resolved at the end of the story, I can easily see this becoming part of a series, with Beck facing more drama and mystery in the course of his work as a private investigator and with his security company.
I only found one or two minor errors in the writing and the book appears to be professionally edited. While sometimes I found my mind wandering a little during some of the technical aspects, and I found the constant mentioning of Beck’s beer brand unnecessarily repetitive, there is very little else to criticise with this book. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. I appreciate mystery novels which are not predictable and this one definitely falls into this category. I would recommend this to any readers who are fans of mystery fiction and especially those who like financial based crime.
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Dead Air
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