Dream Town. (Archer #3) David Baldacci. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: It was New Year's Eve, 1952. Aloysius Archer was thirty years old, once a decorated soldier, and next a humbled inmate. He was currently a private detective with several years of intense experience trolling the darker side of life.
Premise/plot: Aloysius Archer is back for his third mystery novel. He's spent the past few years (since the events of A Gambling Man) in Bay Town working with private investigator, Willie Dash. Now he's visiting his friend, Liberty Callahan in Los Angeles. The two are spending the New Year's holidays together. (But not together-together. Think of it as more a timing issue. Plus neither is willing to give up their own dream for that of the other. She *will be* a famous actress no matter the sacrifice and he *will be* a private investigator no matter the danger.) While they are out together, they are approached by a woman, Eleanor "Ellie" Lamb. She wants to hire Archer. But before they can meet privately to discuss just why she needs a private investigator, she goes missing AND he discovers a body in her home. And so begins a messy, chaotic twisty-turny mystery set in LA featuring writers, directors, actors and actresses--and their spouses.
My thoughts: I did not care for this one. The mystery element was, as I said, messy-chaotic. Nothing was as it appeared. It was very dark. The clues may have been there for readers to deduce and piece together, but I felt it required too much work. There were simply too many characters (aka too many characters with secrets, too many characters caught lying, too many characters in general). There were two or three extremely intense scenes with great danger. But most of this one is literally just him doing dozens and dozens of interviews. And if he was quick to piece it together, he wasn't revealing that to readers. I think this one kept him guessing for quite a while.
I found it both boring and confusing.
© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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