Tune Up: The Secrets of Mylin – Book I

In San Francisco, an older woman is the victim of an apparent accident. Detectives Qigiq and Dreeson are soon to discover evidence to the contrary. Qigiq is a transplant from Alaska, Dreeson is the tough female partner showing him the ropes. Meanwhile in Lake Tahoe, Joe Roberts, a professional photographer, encounters his muse in person. She is alluring, but a hint of danger lies beneath her beauty. She is a violinist named Mylin. Joe has an engaging conversation with her, and she even helps him sell some of his work. But she is gone in a blur, leaving Joe smitten. Two men soon inquire about the woman in the picture. Joe’s mind reels with the implications. He is determined to find her. Qigiq and Dreeson uncover evidence linking the attack on the woman to gang-connected motorcyclists. Joe forgoes his work to track down Mylin, which brings him into a world of danger all its own. He calls and arranges a date with the lovely woman. He is determined to save Mylin from a grim future, while Mylin is desperate to maintain appearances as a musician while searching for her wayward sister. Her sister has disappeared without a trace. Mylin is concerned for her sister’s well-being and her own. Qigiq and Dreeson are drawn into a case of a missing CEO who may have run off on his nagging wife. They are soon to discover that the CEO plans to run off with the company money and on taking his mistress with him. The detectives get a whiff of blackmail that is behind the CEO and mistress’s relationship, which fizzled when the CEO fell for the woman. The detectives have yet to unravel the thread weaving the hit-and-run case and the missing CEO, but the clues are there. Who is blackmailing the CEO? What is to be gained? The fireworks await when the characters come together.

Tune Up reads like 40s noir in its build-up of suspense in each chapter. The pining of the artist for his muse and his desire to save her recalls the work of James Ellroy and/or the movie Laura.The reader follows the mystery along with the police and bobs and weaves with each bump in the tale. Just when you think you know what’s coming, another surprise awaits. The denouement is worth the wait at every step. Suspenseful mastery in its best form. A book not to be missed!