HELP YOURSELF

MIKE FARICY

Help Yourself by veteran mystery writer Mike Faricy is another entertaining, cinematic entry in his long-running Dev Haskell PI series. If you've followed this series, you will be glad to know the usual characters appear and provide much-needed comedic relief.

Dev finds himself in the middle of a planned bank robbery after reuniting with a friend from his old high school days who has asked him how to improve her business's security. She owns a bakery and explains that her basement is full of unopened boxes and trunks. Tubby Gustafson, the local Crime Boss, may have stored the boxes and trunks. Dev hears about this and finds out the contents of the trunks and boxes are benign, except for one trunk containing burglary tools. Neither he nor the bakery owner assigns much importance to their find.

As the tale unwinds, more details emerge. Help Yourself features Dev's officemate Louie, Dev's constant pork rind-eating animal companion Morton, and Dev's unceasing search for romance, or at least a date or two.

Help Yourself is a solid standalone, but new readers should familiarize themselves with Dev's extensive adventures. Faricy writes sure-fire winners. Help Yourself proves that he is as talented as any author in the mystery genre.