Cover Image: California Fever

California Fever

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Member Reviews

California Fever is a light and breezy "caper" mystery by John J. Jacobsen. Released 5th July 2022 by Blackstone, it's 160 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a fun and very light mystery(ish) story set in southern California and featuring lots of surfer culture and appealingly off-kilter characters. Dolphin Smoote just wants to catch waves and earn money without having to work for it. He has a love interest who mere presence renders him tongue-tied and flustered. The secondary characters are variously adorable, silly, and questionable.

In a lot of good ways it reminded me of a more grown-up episode of Scooby-Doo. There's a lot of whimsy and humor, and if the writing isn't terribly polished, at least it suits the narrative very well.

Three and a half stars. It's a standalone and a fast read. It would be a good choice for a pick-up-and-put-down commute or break read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Casual but not radical, California Fever is a breezy beach read that successfully banks on style to make up for its offbeat pacing. A fun short read that I definitely enjoyed, but probably wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend to just anybody.

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Herein lies a mystery. The mystery presented in California Fever is solved, in my opinion, in a very Scooby Doo kind of way. Not that it is a bad thing. I have always enjoyed the Scooby Gang. California Fever is by no means a serious mystery/thriller, but don’t let that scare you off. Even die hard mystery readers can get joy from this quick read. Just like the surfer crew main characters, California Fever puts on a very laid back mystery style. The characters have their general human flaws but are overall likeable.

Our main character is Dolphin Smoote. He is a local surfer who has very little on his mind aside from finding the perfect wave with his surfer friends and heaven forbid they have to get a real job. Dolphin lives with his famous writer Aunt Clemmie as he so lovingly calls her. However, he does meet a girl who catches his attention and in an effort to impress her, he needs to come up with some quick money. What follows is a parody of bad decisions and a running thread of old school mystery. The reader will be on the outside looking in so to say as we do not see from a single perspective, but look down on the scene as if we are watching it play out on a screen.

This is a quick read and to be honest in the beginning I was unsure if I would want to even finish. I continued to read and overall enjoyed the experience. I liked the writing style and I feel like it is a nice read for summer.

I want to thank Netgalley, John J. Jacobson, and Blackstone Publishing for this early arc in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

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This is a very slight comic novel with an appealing setting that is inaccurately classified as a mystery.
The book apparently aspires to PG Wodehouse levels but fails to reach it. It is mildly entertaining.

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Setting and characters were fun
Pacing and plot were all over the place
Overall a pleasant weekend read in the car

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This is pretty good. Very interesting characters created here, along with an amusing plot. I wouldn't consider it great literature, but that's fine since it's just meant to be good entertainment. It is.

Thank you for the free ARC for review!!

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I received this ARC via Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing, in return for an honest review. Dolphin Smoote epitomizes Southern California Surfer Cool – at least until he meets the woman of his dreams. However, she’s more impressed by his eccentric and highly successful author aunt. Events conspire and suddenly, Dolphin’s life is about a lot more than riding the waves with his buddies! There’s mystery, very quirky characters, and a very SoCal feel, so you can visit without leaving your house!

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This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Blackstone Publishing and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Humorous mystery with likable, quirky characters and a unique story.

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