Liquid Shades of Blue is a fast-read complicated novel with secrets, lies, and plenty of dangerous situations and people. A disgraced lawyer turned bar owner in the Florida Keys is shocked when his mother dies. He senses something wrong in the suicide determination, and endeavors to find out what really happened. Along the investigation road, he learns many family secrets that lead to a dramatic and surprising conclusion.

DNF ~ 40%

The tone of this came off as very condescending and the two main characters I had met when I quit the books were both pretentious. The father quoted Neichze unironically twice in two pages. Jack, the main character, also comes across as thinking he’s better than others while also being a total push over at the same time.

There was also too much information about setting and food and roads and random things but not enough information the help the plot. Maybe if I’d continued there would have been something to back up the accusation that the mother’s dead wasn’t suicide and actually murder by a lover, but the argument felt weak and I just wasn’t enjoying the book. When I’m purposefully looking for things to be annoyed about, I know it’s time to just stop reading.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC to me!

This book had me a little confused. It’s described as a novel, but it was under 200 pages, and definitely reads more like a novella.

I enjoyed the fast paced story. Jack gets a call from his father one morning that he needs to come home because his mother committed suicide. Jack begins to look into the suspicious death, especially in light of the fact that his brother had commit suicide years earlier as well. There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to this case.

Overall, it was very surface level. You didn’t get a lot of background on any of the characters, but you got enough to get you where you need to be. It was a quick read, fast paced and engaging. I’d be interested in reading more from this author in the future.

I enjoyed this book a lot for the length that it was. If it were any longer, I would have wanted much more backstory and details on the main characters.

I received a free ARC of this book from Oceanview Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Liquid Shades of Blue is a standalone legal thriller by author, James Polkinghorn. This author was new to me. I was instantly drawn in by the blurb which promised an exciting family drama mystery and I can confirm it lived up to this. Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Harlan Coben. Jack Girard (ex-lawyer) finds out that his mother has died in an apparent suicide. With this brother having suicided years prior, something about the situation doesn’t sit right with Jack and what follows is an intense mystery involving family trauma, secrets and lies. This one was a quick read and I found this meant the story moved at a quick pace without too much filler. The ending was a little predictable but still very enjoyable. I would read more by this author. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an arc of this book.

This is a great thrill-ride that I inhaled! Living in Key West, Jack owns his own bar but is called away when he gets word from his wealthy father that his mother has committed suicide. Since his brother, Bobby also died by his own hand, Jack is devastated but also confused so he leaves immediately after awakening after a drunken night with a beautiful woman. Got your attention yet? It's got everything: illegal activity, money laundering, blackmail, drugs, affairs, and even sharks! So buckle up and dive in; prepare for a warp-speed reading adventure!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

An incredibly quick read that will grab you immediately. You might guess the outcomes because they’re not that shocking. What’s shocking is the deeply flawed and terrible characters, motivated by such things you will find shocking.

If you like mystery, family drama, and slimy attorneys (haha) this book is for you.

A debut author’s mystery about a son navigating a complicated relationship with his father. Jack lost his beloved brother to an overdose years ago. His mother retreated into gloom and he’d really lost her back then too. Now his dominating father calls to deliver news she’s followed an eerily similar method to end her life.
The father is known as “Duke”, he’s more like a general demanding subservience. He was a successful Miami trial lawyer and Jack followed that career path for awhile. Then he cut his losses, ties with the family and bought a bar in Key West. There’s a rack full of baggage to unpack in this dysfunctional, fractured family. There are some facts which don’t add up with the mothers death and Jack begins to search for answers. There were a few parts that crawled along and I just wanted to cut to the chase. There is a healthy dose of family drama, feelings and emotions to sort through with Jack. There were interesting twists and events I didn’t foresee. There are also some supporting characters that were well placed and engaging. An author I will keep an eye out for in the future.
The digital advance reader copy of “Liquid Shades of Blue” by James Polkinghorn, published by Oceanview Publishing was provided by NetGalley. Publication is expected May 16, 2023. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this, book . I truly enjoyed this book and didn’t want it to end. It was a little too short and I wanted more. I hope there will be another book from this author.

A fast paced family mystery read with a fairly predictable twist at the end.

I did like this book and enjoyed how fast paced it was but it just felt like nothing really happened. This is definitely a character driven narrative and I just felt like there was a lot of pointless descriptions of things that added nothing to the story and then a very basic storyline that could have been so much better if more focus had been put on it.

I really wanted to love this but unfortunately it just missed the mark for me.

Thanks to net galley and Oceanview publishing for this arc.

Beginning with the positives, the book was quite fast paced and simple. The descriptions and reflections by Jack, the protagonist, were beautiful and poetic.

Unfortunately, there were many times I felt like putting off reading the book and I think the reason for this is that I couldn't feel a connection with any of the characters. There was nothing that pulled me in. The tone was almost the same all through. Apart from the curiosity felt by the protagonist to unravel the mystery, I couldn't really feel anything else. Even the reminiscing didn't seem to hold too much emotion and seemed to be focused more on being articulate rather than evoke an emotion. I'm unsure if this was the intention of the writer to show how numb Jack was or it was just the natural result of him not being a fully developed character.

Either way, it's a good read to pass time and keep yourself occupied.

Ex-attorney Jack Girard has always been subject to his father’s overbearing ways, but when The Duke calls him to say his mother killed herself, Jack knows there’s more to the story and leaves his solitary life in Key West for Miami Beach in a quest for the truth.

A beautifully written story that is part mystery and part history—all covered in a thick blanket of family relationships. Hopefully a sequel is in the works.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview for an early review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Liquid Shades of Blue is a very fast-paced, engaging novel. The characters, and South Florida as a dominant character itself, are deeply developed and intriguing. There are a number of intense twists and turns as the book draws to its shocking end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the opportunity to read this great ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for an advance copy of Liquid Shades of Blue, a stand-alone thriller featuring lawyer turned bar owner Jack Girard, set in Miami and Key West.

Jack wakes to the sound of his phone with a hangover. It is his father, Claude “The Duke” Girard, telling him that his mother has committed suicide. He races to Miami where his father suggests that his mother’s death may have been murder. Unraveling what happened to his mother brings back memories of his brother Robert’s suicide and a secret only the three of them knew.

I thoroughly enjoyed Liquid Shades of Blue, which is a short, sharp punch of a novel with strong emotions and a good mystery. The novel is told from Jack’s first person perspective and is a recounting of what happened from after the events. He mixes the past and present to great effect as he slowly explains his story. It is emotional as he describes his manipulative father, his free spirited mother and his strong bond with his brother and uses hindsight to re-evaluate their interactions. At the same time he is trying to find out what happened to his mother. My jaw dropped time after time as I re-evaluated what I thought I knew against the new twists. I was glued to the pages.

This is a novel of family dysfunction told in an endearing style by a young man buried in grief. I was astonished to learn that it is a debut as it seems so polished with a steady stream of strategic reveals and twists and a story that pulls on the heart strings. And the ending, gobsmacking in its audacity.

Liquid Shades of Blue is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Following an alcohol-fused one-night-stand, Jack Girard wakes up to a call from his Father - the infamous attorney who carries with him the nickname, “The Duke,” as well as a slimy reputation - telling him that his Mother (and the Duke’s ex-wife) committed suicide.

Leaving the life he’s built in Key West as an owner of a successful bar in order to return to Miami to piece together the true mystery of his Mother’s untimely death, as well as the historical family trauma of the loss of his brother, is a big step backward for Jack. Especially when the clues start pointing back to an internal family poison as the root of the problem.

I really enjoyed this quick read, being immediately sucked in by the unknown and the doubt the author brought into question from the very start. Jack was a likable character who had managed to escape the grimy lifestyle of his father, and you couldn’t help but root for him to make it back out when he was inevitably sucked back in.

The interesting part about this story is that it’s not necessarily a shock when you start to put the pieces together - rather the shock is in the insipid motives and power dynamics that twist the narrative.

The cover caught my attention. Great story and characters, drew me in and didn't let go. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

In Liquid Shades of Blue, author James Polkinghorn creates a mean character, "the Duke" who is father to Jack Girard and Bobby Girard. He is/was also husband to their mother.
The Duke seems to be the cause of the suicide of his gay son Bobby because Bobby lived for his father's approval, and the realization that he was gay would not please the homophobic old man. When the wife dies, it appears to be suicide. Her female lover also dies about the same time and the question arises if she was murdered. Could it be that the Duke was embarrassed at her same sex love, feeling that it reflected badly on him?
Frankly I wouldn't encourage anyone to read what appears to me to be a novel from the 1940's or 1950's, when any good gay character in a novel had to die to show disapproval of the lifestyle. Liquid Shades of Blue shows no positive look at the LGBT life. Modern authors are more likely to add a gay positive character to balance out the negative ones. This book stays far away from such an idea.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

What a great short story concerning relationships that is the catalyst for an intriguing case of murder, or was it?A well-thought plot that keeps moving each time you think you have solved the answer. I will be looking for James Polkinghorns' next story.

An independent review thanks to NetGalley / Oceanview Publishing

Liquid Shades of Blue is a fast-paced quick read. I picked the book because I am always drawn to debut authors. While the book is shorter, it has a lot of punch.
After receiving a phone call from his father about his mother's suicide, Jack is thrown into a world of mystery.
You travel back in time with Jack's past and present along the journey. I would definitely recommend!

Have you ever read a book and thought to yourself, “This would make an amazing movie”?Liquid Shades of Blue is one of those books.

Family secrets run deep, is it worth the turmoil to discover them? The ending alone will replay in my head for weeks to come!

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. Jack Girard has spent the last few years estranged from his family. He has his own life as a bar owner of “Jack’s Hideaway,” and has found his place in the world – as best he can. When Jack receives a call from “the Duke” his father, who is oppressive, domineering, and manipulative, Jack drops everything and heads back home. His mother has just committed suicide. A few years before this, Jack’s older brother Bobby had committed suicide too, only his father covered his death up as an accidental death. When Jack arrives home to deal with his mother’s suicide, his father is there to persuade him that maybe his mother didn’t really commit suicide but maybe someone killed her instead. The mystery begins.

This story grips you from the start and doesn’t let go until the end. Compelling and heartfelt, the dysfunction of the Donovan/Girard family is something many people will relate to. Each character struggles with their own demons – addiction, alcoholism, and dysfunction. But what really happened to Jack’s mom and did she really end her own life? She had been doing better, her life was hers – she was divorcing her husband and had another lover, she was back to painting, happy.

Follow Jack’s journey back through his past, into his future, and in the present. This will be a hard book to put down and one that will stick with you. This story begs to be discussed. I'll be buying the book, I hope you will be too. May 16, 2023!

4 stars. #LiquidShadesofBlue #NetGalley