Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Although repulsed by his client, an overbearing, homophobic California wine mogul, confidential investigator B.J. Vinson agrees to search for Anthony Alfano’s missing son, Lando, and his traveling companion—strictly for the benefit of the young men. As BJ chases an orange Porsche Boxster all over New Mexico, he soon becomes aware he is not the only one looking for the distinctive car. Every time BJ finds a clue, someone has been there before him. He arrives in Taos just in time to see the car plunge into the 650-foot-deep Rio Grande Gorge. Has he failed in his mission?

 

Lando’s brother, Aggie, arrives to help with BJ’s investigation, but BJ isn’t sure he trusts Aggie’s motives. He seems to hold power in his father’s business and has a personal stake in his brother’s fate that goes beyond familial bonds. Together they follow the clues scattered across the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness area and learn the bloodshed didn’t end with the car crash. As they get closer to solving the mystery, BJ must decide whether finding Lando will rescue the young man or place him directly in the path of those who want to harm him.

 

 

First edition published by Martin Brown Publishers, LLC in 2013.

 

Book Review

Burleigh J. Vinson – who goes by BJ because who wouldn’t with a name like Burleigh? – is the quirky confidential investigator (PI is too sleazy for him) whose adventures and sleuthing I enjoyed in ‘The Zozobra Incident’. BJ is a former Marine, now has an office in Albuquerque, and this time it is murder in the Bisti badlands of New Mexico that keeps him occupied. The “simple” search for a missing son and his lover turns out to be a rather involved case with many twists and turns, much as I have come to expect from this author after the fantastic first volume in this series.

BJ’s client is an arrogant, homophobic owner of a vineyard in California who wants to hire “a gay PI to find his gay son” who has apparently vanished for no reason other than being “led astray” by a nefarious gay lover. BJ keeps his own counsel but agrees to look for the son, only to discover that, once again, nothing much is as it seems. As soon as he starts digging, plenty of suspects turn up for multiple reasons: business interests, greed, family inheritance complications, a mysterious second PI who seems to be after the same guy BJ has been hired to find, and various shenanigans that only emerge gradually. The search turns up more than one dead body and becomes a complicated operation that involves several PIs, the FBI, local law enforcement, Lando’s older brother, a couple of local would-be PIs, and a crew of homeless people.

In addition to this fantastic cast of characters, there is a great flavor of New Mexico as BJ hunts clues all over the state, stays on the trail, and methodically builds a timeline of Lando’s whereabouts. BJ’s ex returns in his capacity as a lawyer, and I was happy to see that BJ’s love interest, a young graduate student named Paul, is still around. Between everyone and their widely varying agendas, this mystery is as suspenseful and surprising as the first. I have to say that I suspected who was behind the murder, but did not figure out why or how until pretty much at the end. And I never would have suspected the final twist – what a shock that was!

If you like complicated mysteries with lots of twists and turns, if eccentric characters with peculiar habits and creative ways of thinking are your thing, and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read full of solid detective work that will still keep you guessing, then you will probably like this novel. I am happy there is another one out there for me to enjoy once I catch my breath!

 

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by DSP Publications for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 310 pages/103257 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	21-March-2017
Price	$6.99 ebook, $17.99 paperback, $17.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dsppublications.com/books/the-bisti-business-by-don-travis-360-b