Manny Porter and the Yuletide Murder is the second Tinker Creek mystery by D.C. Robeline. Released 13th Dec 2022 by Bold Strokes books, it's 236 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a competently written and well plotted murder mystery romance featuring an investigative journalist and his circle of close friends. The plot includes industrial espionage, murder, and navigating personal and family relationships. Although it's a sequel with some of the same characters, the mystery and plot are self contained and it works perfectly well as a standalone.
There is some sexual content; the main protagonist is a gay man in a relationship with another man. Another secondary character is their young friend and protege who is an intern at a high tech company who gets entangled in a murder investigation as the prime suspect. There are strong themes of justice, equity, found family, and anti-homophobia throughout.
The book could have benefited from a more thorough editing process, though. One mistake would have taken about 30 seconds to fix and is more of a typo than a blunder. (Referring to a building whose shape was based on a water molecule which had one center hydrogen atom and 2 peripheral oxygen atoms).
Three and a half stars. Well written and engaging with a satisfying solution and denouement.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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