4 out of 4 stars
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What Happened to Flynn by Pat Muir is a police procedural mystery novel set in San Diego, California. It follows detective Shanisha (Shane) Notfarg as she works on the missing person case of Arthur Flynn. Detective Shane works in the homicide section of the San Diego Sheriff’s Office. Her work includes handling missing person cases. They are considered potential homicide cases. Since this is a police procedural novel, the focus is mainly on the detective work related to the case. There is some discussion about the difficulties of being an African American female police detective but beyond that, there is little mention of personal relationships.
Missing person cases of healthy adults are not a favorite of most detectives since most adults turn up sooner or later. Usually, the missing adults have chosen to disappear for a variety of reasons. In this particular case, Arthur Flynn is reported missing by his boss when he doesn’t show up at work after his fishing vacation. Detective Shane gets the case after it has passed through local channels with little success. This case starts out with a simple idea of a man not wanting to be found and progresses into investigations of money laundering and murder. The case becomes quite involved and complex as it goes on. I found myself very curious to know how it would all play out. I really wanted to know what happened to Flynn. This was a well-designed mystery that was fun to read.
I found the mystery to be very interesting. It was a good puzzle and the pieces fit together well. The story came together in a logical way. I enjoyed following along as Detective Shane and her team worked their way through the case. It took a while to get everything set up in the story. However, as the book progressed, I became more and more interested in what would happen next. There were many enjoyable twists and turns in the story.
This was definitely a police procedural novel. There was little focus on the personal aspects of the characters. I don’t need a love story but I do like a few bits and pieces of people’s lives. We did learn a few details about a few of the characters. However, I also like to get a good feel for who the characters really are. I found this book to be very factual in dealing with both the case and the characters. I would have enjoyed gaining a better sense of the personalities of the people in this book.
I am happy to give What Happened to Flynn by Pat Muir 4 out of 4 stars. This is an excellent police procedural novel. It is interesting, detailed and well put together. There were very few typos in the book and it was very well edited. I really enjoyed this mystery. I might have considered giving it a rating of 3.5 out of 4 stars, if that was possible, just because I would have enjoyed a bit more in-depth characterization. However, that is my personal preference, and this was an excellent novel. Those that really enjoy understanding the process and details of detective work will really enjoy this novel.
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What Happened To Flynn
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