Second Cousin Once Removed by Kenneth L Toppell || A Witty PI Mystery Thriller

Second Cousin Once Removed

Henry Attkinson's life as an attorney is slow, predictable, and lonely, given his divorce and his ex-wife's custody of the kids. He recently took up geneology as a hobby to fill the time, but it doesn't do much to spice up his mundane routine. Until the day he prods at a dead end of one of the branches of his family tree. Who is this cousin Shelley, whom he's never met or even heard of in years? Ignoring a warning to leave well enough alone, Henry still doesn't find much in his deeper delve into the mystery--just a concerning criminal record for the man that finally convinces him to drop the matter. But Shelley is a man who doesn't want to be found or even looked for. And now he knows someone has been looking. Faster than he knows what's hit him, Henry is propelled into sudden mayhem, receiving ominous threats, meeting mysterious strangers, and running for his life. Second Cousin Once Removed is a fast-paced, sweaty-palm thriller that will keep you hooked until the last page.

Perfect for readers who want:

• A short, fast-paced read that moves right along.
• A mystery/thriller with the best of both.
• Writing in the style of old-time PI books.
• A book that has the feel of black-and-white PI movies.
• Pop culture references for the older crowd.

Many thanks to Brown Books Publishing and TheWriteReads for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour.

This one, unfortunately, wasn’t really for me, but I’ve never really been one for PI mystery/thriller books. I gave this a try because that opening is quite the hook, and I do love the almost wry, sarcastic tone of the protagonist.

Who I do think this will work really well for are people like my grandparents, who love PI shows. I think my grandmother would’ve enjoyed this, honestly. It’s fast-paced and gets right into the meat of things, which was nice. Not a lot of beating around the bush. There’s a little setup and them, boom, people start dying. And isn’t that really what you want? From a book, obviously. Mostly. Also.

So what I’m going to do is go ahead and share a couple quotes, and you can decide for yourself whether this might be something you’d enjoy!

About Kenneth L Toppell

Ken Toppell wanted to write when he went to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was there during a tumultuous time- the start of the sit-in campaigns, the onset of the civil rights movement. He graduated with a degree in history and political science before he went on to Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, postgraduate training in Houston, Texas, and to the army. Over the next 48 years, Toppell did his writing on medical wards and in intensive care units. As a surgeon, Toppell saw organ transplants go from rare procedures only done by celebrity doctors to a new surgical specialty. Passionate physicians implemented new forms of medical research and brought HIV/AIDS from an epidemic with a 100 percent mortality rate to an outpatient disease. There were new tools and new drugs, and Toppell learned why medicine is called a practice. As the years passed by, Toppell began to give lectures in American history, and he had some time to do a new kind of writing. He now lives in Plano, Texas, where he reads, writes, and enjoys life with his wife of 53 years.