Review: Varied Traits by Patrick Brown

24310612
Title: Varied Traits
Author: Patrick Brown
Published: Dec. 18, 2014
Publisher: Peachtree Corners Press
Pages: 366
Genre: Mystery
Review: ebook provided by NetGalley and Peachtree Corners Press





After breaking up with his girlfriend and losing his father, Salem Reid leaves college after his freshman year at Georgia Southern and joins the Army. He does two tours of duty in Iraq, and then stays in the troubled region to provide security to corporate figures and dignitaries involved in the rebuilding. He returns to his hometown of Atlanta after a decade, a decorated and seasoned war veteran. All is quiet for a while as he starts his security/limo service in Buckhead. But an old high school buddy seeks his help after a depraved night out on the town, and Reid is suddenly thrust into the world of drugs, sex, deceit and murder.

Varied Traits takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the streets of North Atlanta, as Salem Reid hunts down those who seek to harm his friends from both the past and the present. It is a tale that pits good against evil, right against wrong, and introduces characters that grapple with the blurred lines between sex and love.


I received this book from NetGalley to give an honest review.

This was a pretty decent mystery book. 
We start the book off with two men Bud and Joey getting ready to go and visit the strip clubs. Bud ends up going one way and Joey the other. Joey ends up meeting a stripper and taking her to a hotel room, which ends up not being a good idea. When Joey wakes up some of his things are missing so he calls on his old friend Salem. Now Salem (which I think his name is pretty cool) ends up coming to his friends aid. This opens up a whole can of worms. The stripper is someone from Salem's past, and it is up to him to figure out what exactly happened to her and why was his friend Joey targeted. There is sex, drugs, murder all rolled into one. 
In the midst of finding out who is behind all of this he also finds romance with a woman he ended up saving from being hurt.
Now for me the relationship that Salem and Millicent didn't feel real.
(SPOILER)
For me it was like he saved her then she found him to thank him and then they ended up having sex. There was really no dating scenes. 
I liked how everything came full circle once Salem became involved. He is a strong and well developed character. 
The only thing that bothered me in the book as too much descriptions of either clothing or places. I literally can tell you what color shirt Salem wore and where it came from. Sometimes less is better. 
Overall a good book and maybe Salem will be brought into other stories. I think he would make a good character to read about in solving other crimes. 







How many of us have heard the expression "you should write a book"? I heard it enough times from friends and family, that I decided to make the effort. I created a few interesting characters, added a shell of a story, and began to fill in the shell with the adventures of the characters.
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, so that is the setting of my first two novels. "Varied Traits" was published on December 18, 2014. I am currently writing my second novel, "Heavy Hour". I hope to launch it in the spring of 2015.
I live in Northeast Atlanta with my wife and two children. I attended Chamblee High School and majored in Chemistry at Georgia State University. I am an avid baseball and football fan, and enjoy reading crime fiction almost as much as I enjoy writing it.

I was inspired to write by some of my favorite authors like Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lee Child, Jonathan Kellerman, Joseph Wambaugh, and Robert Crais.

I am thrilled and delighted to be writing for you! I hope you enjoy my books!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interview and Giveaway with Author Teri Polen

Spreading Some Love Indie Blog Hop 2016

Review: The Ouija Board (Paranormal Adventure #1) by Shelby White