Key Lime Blues (Wes Darling Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Mike Jastrzebski (Author)

Book Description

For some people working in the family business means suits, power lunches, and afternoon meetings. For Wes Darling it was guns, lies, and dead bodies.

The Darling Detective Agency was founded in 1876 by Aaron ‘Dusty’ Darling. Now Wes’s chain smoking, stressed out mother is grooming Wes to take over. How does he handle his mother’s demands? He heads to Key West, moves onto a sailboat, and takes a job tending bar at a little joint called Dirty Alvin’s.

Life is carefree until his mother’s lover, a man who mentored Wes for years, is murdered on a Key West Beach. Reluctantly, Wes is drawn into a spinning web of murder, sex and deceit.

First there are his mother’s pleas for help. Throw in a six-foot-tall red-headed stripper, a retired mobster who acts like it’s the 1940’s, a pair of dim-witted hit men, a phobic psychic named Elvis, a small fortune in stolen diamonds, and what do you have? Mayhem in Key West.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In September of 2003 Mike and his wife, Mary, moved aboard their 36-foot sailboat, Rough Draft. It was their intention to take the boat south from Minnesota to warmer climates where Mike would write a novel. They sailed the boat through the inland river system from Minnesota to Mobile, Alabama where they lived for two years. They also spent three months living in Key West. Currently, the boat is docked in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. In 2011 Mike and Mary will sail Rough Draft to the Caribbean where they plan to drift until it is no longer fun. In his time living on the boat Mike has completed three novels. The first two books, The Storm Killer, a historical thriller, and Key Lime Blues, a Key West thriller, are now available at Amazon. The third book, Dog River Blues, will be available in early 2011.

Product Details

• File Size: 771 KB
• Print Length: 318 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1456458043
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003Z9JP36
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,810 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Breezy for two thirds of the book, and then the wind died. February 13, 2012

By Ethan A. Winning TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wes Darling, our hero who is fleeing his mother and her Detroit based detective agency, is a "normal" guy who lives on a boat and works in a bar in Key West, Florida. A family friend and detective who raised him or at least taught him a lot as he was growing up gets killed in Key West, and Wes gets drawn back into the family business.

Then there come the three women in his life, a fortune teller, two or three Runyonesque killers, a sack of diamonds, and a hard-boiled woman homicide detective and we're off and running until we come to the implausible, drawn-out last third of the book when I just couldn't wait to get to the end and get it over with.

I've read enough Mitch Rapp and Jack Reacher novels to have accepted the superhero who can swim underwater while holding his breath for 15 minutes and still have enough strength to dispatch 200 murderous bad guys with just a knife and a SIG sauer with a half-empty clip, but Wes Darling gets pistol whipped and kicked in the gut seven times and then I lost count and he didn't lose consciousness. There were a couple of times when I wish it was the other way around.

I will say this: Wes Darling has the greatest libido of any detective hero I've read about. He can and does have sex within 30 minutes of getting the snot beat out of him up to and including broken (or at least bent) ribs, getting kicked in the gut, AND a concussion.

I was drawn in and entertained until it just seemed that Jastrzebski was dragging it out like a term paper that had to be over 300 pages long. Spenser, Sam Spade, Dave Robicheaux, even Roger Rabbit would have wrapped this up by chapter 10. Mike Jastrzebski takes 33.

Will I buy another of his novels? Probably not, well not this year anyway.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Quintessential Key West... September 6, 2010

By Gypsy

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Key Lime Blues is an engrossing fun romp through the streets and odd characters of old Key West. Written in a Carl Hiassen meets dime store detective novel style, this book isn't about a spectacular twist but rather a solid stable of interesting and amusing characters.

The author writes well in a breezy sarcastic tone that keeps the action moving and the reader's attention. A side plot is a little distracting but necessary to explain the motivation of the main character. The abject stupidity of the villians in this book (and the protagonist at many points) can be grating until you realize the author meant it that way. The groans and eye rolls are all a part of the experience.

Aside from an ill placed use of a word that I think should be left out of everyone's volcabulary, Key Lime Blues is a very enjoyable experience from start to finish! I highly recommend it if someone is looking for a tongue in cheek old style mystery that does not take itself too seriously. Much like any experience in Key West, this book is pure fun and over too quickly.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Good at the beginning, but didn't deliver at the end July 7, 2012

By Sharon Storm

Format:Kindle Edition

This book was better at the beginning than the end. The story dragged, and the writer used too many metaphors ("I felt a tingling along the back of my neck, like a poisonous spider had bitten me and the venom was spreading.") The main character's mother seemed like a rip-off of the mother of the main character on the TV series "Burn Notice". The writer was trying for a Carl Hiassen kind of story, but this was not as fun to read as a Hiassen book. There were several typos, which did not make it easier to get through the book. I didn't like the way the story ended. An OK effort, but it could have been better with more editing.

More About the Author

In September of 2003 my wife, Mary, and I moved aboard our 36-foot Sailboat, Rough Draft. It was our intention to take the boat south from Minnesota to warmer climates where I would write a novel.

We sailed the boat through the inland river system from Minnesota to Mobile, Alabama where we lived for two years. We also spent three months living in Key West. Currently, the boat is docked in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. In 2011 we will take the boat to the Caribbean where we plan to drift until it is no longer fun.

In the time we've lived on the boat I have completed three mystery novels. It was my intention to find an agent and a publisher. After careful consideration I have decided to publish these books as e-books. The Storm Killer, is a historical thriller and Key Lime Blues, a mystery set in current day Key West, are both available for Kindle.