Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A Matter Of Consequences is a gripping and fast-paced thriller that follows Louis Vetters, a retired Chicago cop turned private investigator, as he juggles two cases that put his life and family in danger. One is the murder of a young black artist, who was the grandson of a powerful lawyer with a hidden agenda. The other is the infidelity of his neighbor's wife, who is involved with a mysterious and dangerous man. Vetters must use his skills, instincts, and connections to solve the crimes, while avoiding the wrath of the Chicago gangs, the law firm, and his neighbor.

Michael W Falls delivers a compelling and realistic story that explores the themes of corruption, racism, loyalty, and justice in the Windy City. His writing is crisp and engaging, with vivid descriptions and dialogue that capture the atmosphere and culture of Chicago. His characters are well-developed and complex, each with their own motivations and flaws. Vetters is a likable and relatable protagonist, who struggles with his health, his marriage, and his conscience. He is not a superhero, but a human being who makes mistakes and faces consequences.

A Matter Of Consequences is a must-read for fans of hard-boiled detective novels, who enjoy a twisty and suspenseful plot, a charismatic and flawed hero, and a gritty and authentic setting. It is a book that will keep you hooked from the first page to the last, and leave you wanting more.

This book had me stumped. Sitting smug and thinking I had it all thought out, the author put me in my place. Finally we have a thriller that will keep you your toes. I truly enjoyed myself and will be recommending it to anyone I see for the next few months.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an enjoyable mystery with the classic whodunit plot yet with its own twists and turns. It can be difficult to do first-person detective stories well, but I believe that Michael W Falls does a good job at using this to create a surprising and suspenseful story.

The plot flows well and deals with two mysteries with enough attention on each. A few sentences don’t flow well with a lot of short ideas wedged in together, but for the most part, it was an easy, enjoyable, quick read.
There were a lot of characters, and it was hard to remember who they all were if they haven’t been mentioned in 10 chapters so I would recommend reading on an ebook so you can go back and search for character names.

I did not particularly like the main character as he came across as entitled and cocky. However, I guess, this is normal in detective stories. Poirot and Sherlock can both come across as entitled and cocky, so this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He definitely grew on me as I read. I liked how he worked through the case very methodically. It helped make the plot easy to follow. Although there does seem to be some instances where he was “lucky”. I guess you can’t solve the unsolvable without a little luck.

The protagonist also seemed to think that police violence was okay if it was just being unnecessarily rough with people he arrested which I found quite problematic.

This novel did not have a lot of representation at all. Every police or detective character was a white man. There were, I believe, around 6 named female characters in the whole story and they didn’t really interact with each other much. Almost all the black characters were viewed as immoral or poor and, when there was an exception, the characters kept remarking at how surprising this is. And while the main character internally rebukes other characters for making racist remarks, no one is advocating otherwise, and no one stands up to the people making the remarks. The novel also didn’t appear to view homosexuality as legitimate.

I’ve rated this story 3/5 because it is an enjoyable, classic mystery with a good plot but I would have loved to see a more diverse cast and, while the ending was good and realistic, it is a little bit unsatisfactory. Though, I guess this helps make it real.

This is a thriller that definitely keeps you guessing until the end. I found it very fast paced and an enjoyable read as a whole. However, I struggled with the homophobia and racism that was included which impacted on the rating of the book.

This was a fast paced & enjoyable thriller. Kept you guessing throughout. The only thing that prevented a higher rating for me was the racism and homophobia included, i’m not sure if it was intentional but it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. If those things don’t impact you however this is a fab thriller to read.

this was a really good mystery novel, the characters were well done. I enjoyed the real life elements in this novel and appreciated going on this mystery novel.

This book was a decent read, but just ok for me?! The storyline was interesting but just like normal?! I don't know how else to explain it?! It just didn't get my heart pumping , edge of my seat type book! So it was just ok for me! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!