Former New York detective Ed Runyon is now a Mifflin County sheriff’s detective in rural Ohio, having sought a quieter life. Fleeing trauma from an old murder case is not easy but a missing girl case is a too close reminder that stirs rage, the need for alcohol and despair. This is the beginning of an intended mystery thriller series, with another broken hero in small town rural America. An enjoyable read, with well captured folksy narrative and credible rural nuanced setting. A worthy whodunnit, particularly if a modern western genre is your preference. So, a three-star read with hopefully more adventures to follow. With many thanks to Oceanview Publishing and the author for an advanced copy of an uncorrected proof for review purposes.

City Problems by Steve Goble is a well-written and engrossing read with well developed characterizations. Well worth the time spent reading.

The language is OK and the characters are good, but unfortunately the plot is not. The story is filled with repetitions, it's written in first person POV, but there are chapters in third person, and why write about a lousy cop with anger issues?

If you had given a chance to redeem yourself or do over what you have done wrong in the past, surely one does not think twice and go for it. This book gave me mixed emotions and now that I already finished reading it am still not sure what to feel or say about it.
The story started with a girl who just woke up knowing nothing where or what is happening. She only moved when a match hit her face and screamed in pain. She heard some mumbling saying that she is alive then she goes back to being unconscious. Then shift the story to the protagonist Ed Runyon. This is just the first part of the book and the rest of the story is almost just like that. It will hype you up and get you excited about some story or some clues about the mystery but when you thought that it had a promising outcome you will be left hanging as it will shift into something mediocre or something irrelevant. Ed Runyon had run from a life that ruined him. A case of murder that leads him into depression. Now, He lives in a small town in Ohio, Mifflin County. And when girls in this small town started missing. Ed is now facing the exact same thing he had run from his past life. He wants to run again. Change his life and start anew somewhere else. But he does not run. He wants to end this case and take the matters into his hands. I could see this as an opportunity for Ed to redeem her conscience. Thus start of the solving of mysteries and clues that seems to never end.
I would have loved the story but the way it was delivered was disappointing. I got hooked on it for I like the story itself it was rather good. even though there is a lot of cursing of the characters that almost look too irrelevant and took a lot of lines I still saw how good the story was. That is why I said earlier that it had given me mixed emotions. It was as if I had a love/hate relationship with this book. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this book.

City Problems - My first book by Steve Goble, not a book that had me on the edge of my seat but an enjoyable read all the same. I enjoyed how the book focused on the lead character himself, rather than the crime and watching him put his emotions and past history aside (or at least trying to) while solving the crime.

I found it a bit confusing how in the first few chapters it was flicking between characters, and then all of a sudden this stopped. The crime itself was so senseless, which I guess is more "real" than reading about serial killers and well thought out crimes. It was lacking that gruesome murder aspect or clever killer which was much more realistic.

It was an easy read, and the dialogue between characters was very real, I think the swearing and way each other spoke was very accurate of the time and place - it was quite vulgar so if not used to language like this then maybe not the book for you, I personally thought it was very fitting and did add to the story. I liked the main character, without loving him - he was nothing amazing but it worked so well.

Overall, a well written and enjoyable book. Not my favourite ever read but more than enough to make me excited to see what else comes out of this author.

City Problems is a mystery thriller that sees a cop from New York shattered by a case move to a small town – Mifflin County in Ohio. Just when Detective Ed Runyon seems to be getting his life back on track and settling down, a case of a missing girls lands on his desk which brings back a lot of memories about the case that sent him running from New York. He struggles with his past and walks a fine line between right and wrong. How far will he go?
This was my first encounter with Steve Goble. I looked at reviews on GoodReads and a lot of my fellow mystery-thriller readers only gave this book a three-star rating. I believe it deserves better than that. This book is well written, it has a gripping story and manages to keep you uncertain of where it’s going to go. You immediately know that the obvious suspect is not guilty, but the author manages to through little details at you that keep you wondering.
When a missing girl ends up dead, Detective Ed Runyon is forced to face the past he has run away from. Tempted to run away, he struggles to remain in the present. He wants to take the law into his own hands, will he take it upon himself to be judge, jury and executioner or will he remain within the boundaries of the law. This internal struggle is the centre of the story and the author manages to keep you wondering until the very end.
City Problems leaves you looking at law enforcement a little differently, you experience the struggles these men and women face. I was rooting for Ed all the way and would have accepted his actions no matter which way they lead. A scary thought, but the author did a wonderful job expressing Ed’s internal struggle, making it easy to understand why he had the thoughts he did.
Normally I pick I character I like, this time around I am settling for one I disliked. What is with Linda? The woman was simply annoying. Yes, she cared about Ed and she had his best interest at heart, but honestly – she is a character that gives women a bad name. She was nagging and pushing all the time, I have no idea why Ed did not send her on her way. I did not like her at all.
I enjoyed every minute I spent reading City Problems, so this is added to my Loved list for 2021. The author told a harsh story with a lot of emotion and made it easy to understand the lead character.
This story focusses on the cop, rather than the crime itself and will appeal to crime mystery enthusiast. It is a gripping read that will have you hooked very quickly. I have no problem recommending this book, it was a good, fast read.

This was an interesting and compelling read by Steve Goble. One main issue I had was with the characters. At times they felt 2 dimensional and flat. It took me out of the story which was unfortunate because the plot was very interesting. Overall, without looking at the characters, City Problems was quick and gripping read. Thriller readers will definitely enjoy this!

Thank you to Oceanview Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC copy of City Problems!

A thing that drives me nuts is when an author writes a book that centers around the main character’s career, but it’s clear that they didn’t consult someone who works that job in real life to avoid factual inaccuracies in the story. There were a handful of examples of this in the book that kept pulling me out of the story. It’s super important to do your research when writing a book, my guy! I also noticed that the dialogue was a bit stilted because the author seemed to shy away from using contractions specifically during conversations between characters (ex: ‘Yep, you are right. It is a logical starting point.’) which made those conversations feel unauthentic and clunky. It’s okay to use contractions in your writing! It’s encouraged, really. Anyway, those were my main gripes with this book; otherwise, I liked it. The writing (that wasn’t dialogue) was solid and the plot moved forward steadily. I liked Ed a lot - he’s so salty while still being funny and kind, despite the ghosts that haunt him. Overall, this was a solid start to a new series - the author is clearly a talented writer, but I think he could benefit from a good editor going forward.