Dream Town (Private Investigator Archer Book 3)

Product Information

The Aloysius Archer series continues as a strong PI series made even more enjoyable by the fact that it maintains its authentic look and feel. This book has a strong narrative that left me feeling the pulse of the story from the opening pages. Overall, “Dream Town” is an enjoyable journey back in time when things were different and America was recovering and rebuilding following the devastation of World War II, and unfortunately men and power ran the world.

The book captures the glamour of the era, the rise of the Hollywood star and the importance of the movie studios and the people who pull the strings, but also the seedier side of the town. While there is little chance Aloysius will have any crossovers with characters in Baldacci’s other series, I see a lot of great possible interactions as the series progresses. He is helped by a Liberty becoming increasingly concerned for his safety, Willie Dash and a group of other PI's that provide necessary support for each other when required, including ex-PI Jake Nichols. It is New Year's Eve 1952 in this riveting historical noir series by David Baldacci featuring PI Aloysius Archer, an ex-WW2 vet working for his experienced Bay Town ex-FBI mentor, Willie Dash, based in Bay Town, responsible for helping him hone his skills in his new profession. A visit to Lamb’s Malibu residence leaves Archer knocked unconscious after he stumbles over a dead body in the hallway; and Lamb seems to have vanished.A true gumshoe story that keeps the reader engaged and provides an entertaining tale of times when detective work was much simpler. Archer is soon in the thick of the action when on a visit to Eleanor Lamb’s house stumbles on a dead body and knocked unconscious.

Absolutely recommended for folks who like their action with that perfect historical, American noirish edge.

When the woman disappears and they find a dead man in her home, Archer begins digging in a town that has multiple faces and alliances. The reader learns a little more about his interest in both detective work and as certain lucky lady, both of which come to a head by the closing chapters of this book. Later that night, he goes to her house to check on her only to discover a dead body there and Lamb nowhere to be found. Much later, when David thanked her for being the spark that ignited his writing career, she revealed that she'd given him the notebook to keep him quiet, "because every mom needs a break now and then.

I hope Baldacci will continue this series since I have alway been a fan of the hardboiled and noir detective genres and we need more books set in a time that is not the present. I greatly enjoyed reading that change of pace set in the past, as well as Archer’s chivalrous character. David Baldacci books are always written in a particular way which brings out the best of thriller and suspense aspects of a particular plot. Archer suspects that Eleanor knows more than she's saying, but before he can officially take on her case, a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor's home .

The 1950s weren't the fabled good old days, but they're fodder for gritty crime stories of high ideals and lowlifes, of longing and disappointment, and all the trouble a PI can handle.

The only thing keeping this out of 5 star territory is that Baldacci's similes and metaphors don't quite hit the peaks of Chandler's noir poetry, but then who will ever be able to do that? Then she disappears, Archer trips over a corpse, and he is caught up in a wild investigation which includes Hollywood actors, gangsters, drugs, people smuggling and more. For example, Baldacci uses the social and legal inequality between men and women in that time period to propel and strengthen his story. Baldacci does a great job of snowballing Archer's situation, adding more and more nefarious villains as the book progresses.After discovering the body, he stops at the beach on and is accosted by some stranger and nearly killed. He finds himself going up against a dangerous mobster killer in Chinatown, power wielding movie producers and directors, untrusting and hard-edged county police investigators, and numerous suspects hiding secrets and relationships that hinder Archer from finding a killer and solving his case, as well as its impact on his personal relationship with Liberty.