Monday is my new favorite day of the week. If you consolidated all the good luck in the world and placed it in a warehouse the size of California, a chunk the size of Connecticut would be relegated for this novel. While these references may not mean as much to you now, they'll certainly hold more meaning when you purchase your own copy of this novel. And if you want to get lost in the world of Nick Monday, who has nearly as much wit, charm, and charisma as the late Robert B. Parker's Spenser, then it's exactly what you should do.
Finding the perfect book is like connecting with the right lover. It doesn't happen very often, and you don't always know what you're looking for, but when it does, you feel like one lucky bastard, like the universe opened up just for you and swallowed you whole. And no matter how many good, or not so good, books you read in-between, you keep seeking out the one connection that brings meaning and fulfillment to your life. For me, this was one of those books.
Why? It all started with the main character, the heart and soul of this novel. Nick Monday might as well be my alter ego. Sure, he's a man that poaches luck for a living, and other than some good luck and good fortune in my life, I haven't been able to poach so much as a four leaf clover. But S.G. Browne is too good of an author to focus solely on Nick and let the other characters waltz on top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. And instead of creating yet another PI, he adds an interesting twist to the genre by having his PI poach luck for a living and work as a PI on the side.
All in all, I can't recommend this book highly enough, and by being handed this book, I felt like I had my own four leaf clover placed in my palm. I do hope S.G. Browne considers a sequel, because Nick is a character I'd like to revisit.
I was lucky enough to receive this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Robert Downs
Author of Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator