Harbor Nights

In this third Spencer Manning mystery, author Rick Polad proves that he has mastered the Agatha Christie model of crafting highly entertaining murder mysteries. Spencer is immensely likable for a private investigator, a guy who does favors and looks out for his friends, even his ex-girlfriend. In this tale of a missing painting, and equally missing artist, Polad introduces us to some new and extremely colorful characters—it’s fun to spend time with them. Even scenic Door County in Wisconsin becomes a fascinating character in the unfolding drama. As in all good mysteries, what seems to be true is not yet Spencer finds a way to unravel the surprising truth even when he hardly seems to break a sweat. This is one P.I. you don’t want to miss.

Harbor Nights was a thoroughly enjoyable read. It is one of those rare books that stirred mixed emotions – the plot was so good that I wanted to race through the book to discover how it ends, yet I enjoyed the prose so much that I didn’t want it to end. With Spencer Manning as the protagonist it is, of course, a mystery but one not encumbered with gratuitous violence. The plot was outstanding, the characters believable, the Door County setting was enjoyably described, and the writing was excellent. This is the third Spencer Manning mystery I’ve read and am eagerly awaiting the next book.

When I saw that this book was available for Kindle a few days ago, I downloaded it right away. Figured I would just get my feet wet with the first few chapters before I started my household chores. Wrong! Harbor Nights was so much fun to read with its multiple crimes and colorful suspects. I found myself saying “just one more chapter” after each chapter. Before I knew it, I was done with the book. Spencer Manning is back and does not disappoint. I think this may be my favorite of the Spencer Manning Mysteries…which is a pretty tall order. Rick Polad does another skillful job blending the serious storyline with the on-going (and often humorous) development of his characters. Set in Chicago and Door county (Wisconsin), Harbor Nights is Rick Polad’s best writing so far. At the end of the Kindle version, there is a preview of his first book “Change of Address” vs a fourth Spencer book. Hopefully, Mr. Polad is working on a fourth. I would be disappointed if we have heard the last from Spencer, Stosh and Rosie!