"It's all about solving mysteries."

Joe Ballard runs a private detective agency, started by his father, with Mike Mason, his long time employee and now friend and business partner. The Pacific branch of the office was renamed Coastside. There was a second office in the less prosperous Tenderloin area and new interns were being trained. When Joe finds an old gold coin on the beach, the local reporter's article starts a mini gold rush in Pacifica and one particular Crocodile Dundee type woman catches Mike's attention.

A modernesque noir detective adventure, with diverse characters and an unusual plot, this book is an easy and immersive read. The characters, even the main ones, are not especially pleasant people but they seem mostly real as they try to unravel the truth behind a legend. The reader really feels aware of the neighbourhood scenery and the people within it. Narrator David Angelo, gives a good performance as the cynical detective, unsure whether it is the quiet beauty of his relatively new home that he prefers or the noise and danger of the city. His world weary delivery perfectly fits the character of Mike, from whose first person perspective the tale is told. Every protagonist is given their own distinctive voice and the intensity of the story line is reflected in the reading.

My thanks to the rights holder of Coastside Detectives: Armando's Gold, who, at my request via Audiobook Boom, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. It was a most enjoyable, sometimes humerous, listen, the second I have heard in this series: I hope there will be many more to come. Recommended

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