Baron R. Birtcher has outdone himself. Ruby Tuesday is the second hardboiled mystery in the Mike Travis series. The Mike Travis character was first introduced in the impressive debut novel, Roadhouse Blues (October 2000). Both novels are fast, exciting and tough to put down.

In his latest, Ruby Tuesday, we start up where Roadhouse Blues ends off. What's great is, you do not need to read one in order to read the other. Each novel is a complete novel all by itself. (However, if you read one, I can almost guarantee you will want to read the other).

A trend setting band works diligently in the recording studio to put the final touches on their next album release. The pressure is on. Every new release has outsold the previous release. And with each new release there is a spike in sales of previous releases. So when the band realizes the tapes with their recording is missing, everything falls apart. Things only get worse when the lead singer, who was perhaps the brains and brawn behind the band, allegedly commits suicide. What ever happened to the recordings? Were they stolen? Erased? There are no answers until years later …

Mike Travis was born into money. His brother and he inherited the family business. While his brother decided to work at the company, Travis became a police officer, and shared in half the company profits as a silent partner. After taking an early retirement as detective with the Los Angels Police Department, Travis decides to sail his yacht toward home, Kona, Hawaii.

Ready to relax and enjoy life, the last thing Travis expected was to get sucked into a multiple murder investigation. To make matters more complicated the victims are murdered inside Travis' house. Ruby is one of the deceased and was a good friend of Travis', while another was a member of the band whose recordings disappeared, a third was the producer for the recordings and the list goes on ...

None of the details makes much sense except for the fact that the Ruby's husband, Tino, also a friend of Travis', looks like the prime suspect. After all, what was she doing in the house with the drug abusing band junkies? Dedicated to getting to the bottom of the mess, Travis hopes to clear Tino's name. But he hasn't much time. With Tino in custody, the local police are ready to call the case closed …

From page one until the last page, Birtcher knows how to engage his readers. In the classic noir style, he builds the tension and suspense until you think you can't take any more … but there is always more to be had. A regular whodunit, Birtcher feeds clues and designates suspects. Great dialogue, beautiful narrative and description (which make me want to move to Hawaii) make the entire book resemble a movie. Everything is three-dimensional. The plot is tight. The mystery is clever. The ending a huge surprise. I look forward to Birtcher's next novel.

REVIEWED BY PHILLIP TOMASSO III

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR, PHILLIP TOMASSO III

Phillip Tomasso III is the award-winning author of Adverse Impact, Johnny Blade, Third Ring, Tenth House and Mind Play. He works full time as an employment law paralegal, freelances for a community newspaper and writes regular book reviews for Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, The Best Reviews and Curled Up With A Good Book. Tomasso also writes middle grade novels under the pen name, Grant R. Philips. King Gauthier and the Little Dragon Slayer will be released by Port Town Publishing, September 2003; Sounds of Silence in the Fall of 2004 by Star Bright Books. Living in Rochester, New York with his wife and three children. Tomasso is currently at work on his next mystery and middle grade novels.