A series book centered on a prickly private investigator who used to be a cop. He's hired to find a suspect in the murder of a policeman, hopefully before the police find him. The suspect disappeared right after the body was found on his farm. There is an intensive manhunt but noone has seen him for several months. As our PI digs deeper he finds clues that point to several suspects, but the police do not want to hear or see anything that doesn't fit their hunt. Steve Goble has done a decent job of building the characters and surrounding them in a back story full of clues and questions. I can see significant character growth since the first book in the series. I'll be sure to pick up the next one to make sure my first opinions are right. Recommending to my mystery/ thriller reading circle. I'm sure they will like it too.

"When a cop is murdered in rural Ohio on Donny Blackmon's property, the case seems open and shut. Donny must've done it—he's a known cop-hater, and he's already fled. Believing her husband is innocent, Donny's wife calls Whiskey River Investigations, the new one-man PI agency run by former sheriff's deputy Ed Runyon, to see if Ed can find her husband. Ed isn't sure he'll take the case until he visits the Blackmon family home and meets Donny's daughter, who has just been diagnosed with cancer—and Donny doesn't know. When Donny's daughter asks Ed to "go find Daddy," Ed knows he has to find Donny before the police do, whether or not he's innocent.
Ed soon realizes finding Donny won't be an easy job: Donny trusts no one, and he's gone completely off the grid. But Ed finds something the police have missed and begins piecing the puzzle together. The closer he gets to the truth, the more danger he finds. But he took the job, so Ed is going to find Donny Blackmon—or die trying."
This is the 3rd in the series, I recommend reading the first two before reading this one, I haven't read the other ones, I may have had a better understanding in the characters and development. Some subject matter I prefer not to read but still finished reading this one. I give it 4 stars.
Thanks to Oceanview Publishing, netgalley, and the author in exchange for an honest review.
Published July 11th, 2023.

Go Find Daddy is the 3rd book in the Ed Runyon series, I found this to be a quick and easy read that was entertaining. Ed is hired to find her husband who is the prime suspect in a murder, but his daughter has cancer and needs him to be there for her. I would recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Go Find Daddy is the third book in the Ed Runyon series. This is the first book I've read in the series and, overall, I thought it was good. The pacing of the book was fast and it stayed that way for most of the book. I connected with the premise of the book in that it did not seem too farfetched (sometimes stories trying to take on more contemporary topics come off as too outlandish; this one did not.) I may end up reading other books in the series because I felt like I may be missing character development/further context into Ed Runyon's personality. I would recommend this book for those who like a mystery that tackles contemporary issues and is more on the grittier side.

Fabulous!! This was a great story which I could not put down. Would recommend this to everyone who loves this genre.

"Go Find Daddy," the third installment in the captivating Ed Runyon Mystery Series by Steve Goble, is so good. It's the tale of a man on the run and a desperate race against time by a former sheriff's deputy to find him.. I was captivated by the story.

The story revolves around Ed Runyon, a former sheriff's deputy turned private investigator, who is tasked with finding Donny Blackmon, a man accused of murdering a police officer. Donny's wife believes in his innocence and desperately wants Ed to find him before the police do. However, what sets this case apart is the heartbreaking revelation that Donny's young daughter, who is battling cancer, wants her father to be informed of her condition before it's too late. Ed, driven by compassion and the sense of responsibility, takes on the challenging task of locating Donny, regardless of his guilt or innocence.

The writing style is crisp and engaging, creating a sense of urgency and suspense. I really enjoyed the pace of the book and the plot was really well-structured. There is a good mix of action and introspection, and some of the key plot elements are handled sensitively.

Characterisation is a key strength of the book with Ed Runyon being a complex and relatable protagonist. He's a good investigator and displays genuine empathy and determination to help others. The supporting cast is equally well-developed, each with their own unique motivations and flaws. .

As the plot progresses, the suspense intensifies, and the twists and turns kept me guessing.

While "Go Find Daddy" can be read as a standalone novel, this is the third in a series, none of which I've read. I'm sure those who have followed the series from the beginning will appreciate the further development of Ed Runyon's character. However, newcomers to the series can easily dive into this book without feeling lost or disconnected, as I did.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Third book in the series, can be read as a standalone.
Former sheriff's deputy Ed Runyon runs a one-man PI agency. When a cop's body is found on the land of known cop-hater Danny Blackmon, many feel he is the murderer. When Ed is asked by Danny's wife to find
Danny and pass on a letter . While Ed is at first reluctant to take the case, Danny's
ill young daughter changes his mind. As he investigates, he begins to doubt Danny's guilt. Will Ed find Donny before he is killed for the bounty reward?
Enjoyable read - I've ordered the first two books in the series.
#GoFindDaddy #NetGalley

Go Find Daddy by Steve Goble is a recommended investigative novel and the third book featuring PI Ed Runyon.

Ed Runyon is hired by the wife of a man wanted for murder. She wants Ed to find him. However, the case isn't quite as simple as that. A cop was found murdered in rural Ohio on Donny Blackmon’s property and Donny has disappeared with no way for anyone to find him. His wife needs to find him because she has just learned that their daughter is dying from cancer. Once the young girl asks Ed to find her Daddy, Ed knows he's taking the case.

You can still follow the plot and won't feel as if you are missing too much backstory, but as the third book in the series, it might behoove readers to start with the earlier two novel, City Problems and Wayward Son. Additionally, Ed can be a bit of an annoying character and his personality may not endear him to some readers. All in all, this is a decent PI novel, not a favorite, but not awful. Perhaps I would have liked it more if it was just a story and kept current events out of the plot. This element to the narrative is tiresome and dates the novel immediately, before it is even released.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

The third in the Ed Runyon mystery series, Go Find Daddy by Steve Goble can be enjoyed as a standalone crime thriller. Ed is a Private Investigator asked to find a man on the run who is a suspect in the death of a policeman on his property. Ed is reluctant to get involved until he learns the man’s daughter has cancer and must find the man, who has gone off-grid with a bounty on his head. The manhunt becomes a race with cops keen to get their first to avenge their fellow officer, but Ed is a first-class investigator and will ensure he delivers on his promises. A folksy modern western tale and enjoyable rural noir, with a flawed hero that is a four star read rating. With thanks to Oceanview Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

Go Find Daddy by Steve Goble (Oceanview Publishing, July 2023) is the third book in the series about Ed Runyon, former detective in the Mifflin County, Ohio, sheriff’s office and now private investigator focusing on locating missing children. Runyon saw far too many cases of lost children shuffled around in the understaffed and overworked sheriff’s office and he set up shop on his own to concentrate on the problem. He takes whatever skip traces and background investigations necessary to pay the bills but any situation involving children gets his full attention.

When Amy Blackmon asks Runyon to find her husband, Runyon isn’t interested. Donny Blackmon is the subject of an intense months-long manhunt, suspected of killing Mifflin County Officer Brandon Gullick. Law enforcement personnel for miles around are looking for Blackmon and when he is found most of them will likely shoot first and ask questions later. Blackmon has been vocal about his dislike and distrust of the police and the criminal justice system in general, expressing his thoughts openly and thoroughly on his blog. Runyon doesn’t want anything to do with the Blackmon family until Amy explains that she needs him to tell her husband that their daughter was diagnosed with cancer after he disappeared. He needs to know that she is not likely to recover.

Runyon is devastated at the news and does not feel that he can refuse her request, although he’s not happy about it. He sets out on a cold trail and encounters hostile police officers, law enforcement representatives who think he knows more than he is telling, and bounty hunters anxious to claim the reward. It’s an ugly situation and gets worse when Runyon realizes that the homicide investigators overlooked some important evidence that points away from Blackmon as the killer.

Oceanview is developing quite an impressive roster of mystery authors. Matt Coyle, Patti Sheehy, T. J. O’Connor, James Ziskin, D. P. Lyle, Bonnar Spring, and James L'Etoile are all writers with whom I am familiar. I can add Ed Goble to the list now. Goble has put a fresh spin on the stock character of disenchanted law enforcement officer turned private investigator. The plot is effective and original, and its momentum is consistent and relentless. The descriptive bits about the countryside were a nice touch. This is a compelling read and I completed it in one sitting. For fans of private investigator books and of rural law enforcement crime fiction.

This was an entertaining, quickly-read novel (under 300 pages) that, in my mind, was written in a slightly noirish way. It was filled with twists and turns, and the culprit sort of (but not fully) surprised me.

I liked this, and I would have liked it, even more, had the author not stooped to adding politics into the pot. I wish authors would keep their politics to themselves, but in a way, I could see how this might have been germane to the story. I also didn't like the fact that the author could not keep Ed's manner of speaking- consistent.

All in all, this was well worth a read, and had I known then what I know now, I would have picked up the first two books in this series just to get the feel for the characters. It can certainly be a stand-alone, as I had no trouble following things.

A good book for a beach read or a vacation plane ride, just not if you are traveling to Ohio lol.

*ARC supplied by the publisher - Oceanview, the author, and NetGalley.

I received a complimentary electronic ARC of this excellent mystery/PI novel from Netgalley, author Steve Goble, and publisher Oceanview Publishing. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read 'Go Find Daddy' of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Steve Goble to friends and family. He writes a fine tale with compassionate protagonists and a well-described locale that makes you feel right at home.

This was our introduction to a new-to-us author that my husband and I both enjoyed considerably. Jerry left Ohio for New Mexico as a child, but this was a joyful visit for him - though Washington Courthouse in the late 1950s was a bit bigger than Jodyville. Maybe.

Ed Runyon, an ex-sheriff deputy, and relatively new private investigator isn't sure this job is for him, as Donny Blackman, the person he is being asked to find, is a possible cop-killer. However, once he meets Cassie, Donny's ill nine-year-old daughter Ed has no more choice in the matter. He is a sucker for kids. Find her Daddy he must, and as quickly as possible. But that's not going to be easy. Donny knows how to avoid all the ways cops trace criminals, and is hiding for his life from every cop in the state and that was before the organization Blue Fury offers a half-million dollar bounty on Donny's head. But Donny has a weakness. He plays bluegrass guitar. And Ed knows how to invest in a weakness...

I think my mistake is jumping in at a later book in the series and would have enjoyed it more if Istarted with the first one. It's an easy to read, exciting novel, but I prefer more complicated stories.

Book 3 in the series but my first. I was pleasantly surprised by the book. I liked the main characters, it moved along quickly and kept me reading. Wasn’t completely blood and gore, but enough to keep it moving along. Would recommend to many people who prefer an easy read. Thank you netgalley for this opportunity.

Go Find Daddy by Steve Goble is the third book in the Ed Runyon Mystery Series that began with the July 2021 release, City Problems. It has been more than a year since the events of the last book and private investigator Ed Runyon does not want this new case at all. Yet, Amy Blackmon is begging for help.

Her husband, Donny Blackmon, is on the run with nearly everyone in the area and beyond believing her cop hating husband is a killer. Officer Brandon Gullick was found dead at a barn on their farm. He had been shot twice in the head and executed. Blackmon’s gun was found at the scene and it had his thumbprint on it. The gun was used on the deceased officer and is the murder weapon. Her husband is anti-cop, anti-government, does not believe anything reported in the media, and is very much a proponent of the second amendment. Then there is the social media frenzy about the case and that has brought out the extremes we all see too often these days.

Angie Blackmon goes to church with Tammy Zachman who knows a thing or two trying to get a loved one back home safe. Mr. Runyon found her son, Jimmy, a year plus ago and brought him home safely (Wayward Son). Besides, as Angie explains, she absolutely does not want Mr. Runyon to bring him home.

Instead, she wants Mr. Runyon to find her husband and pass along an important message. Their nine-year-old daughter, Cassie, has subsequently been diagnosed with cancer in the weeks that have past since her dad went on the run. The situation is bad as her only hope, at this point, is some sort of experimental treatment that is hideously expensive. The family cannot afford it. Some friends and the church will help, but things are bad. Mrs. Blackman wants Mr. Runyon to get a message about Cassie to her off the grid husband so that he can figure out a way of seeing his daughter one more time before the worst thing ever happens.

Obviously, dad needs to know what is happening to his only child. Finding him, before the cops or some vigilante does, is going to be damn near impossible. But, how do you tell a dying child you will not find her daddy?

Before long, he is working the case and trying to find her dad. As he searches and pokes around, it slowly becomes a distinct possibility that while Donny Blackmon pretty much stands in opposition to everything that Ed Runyon has ever believed, he is no killer.

Another highly entertaining read in this Ohio based mystery series, Go Find Daddy by Steve Goble is, at its simplest core, a hunt to find a family member as another family member is most likely not long for this world. That is a tale we have all read many times and some of us have experienced.

But, this book is far more complicated than that as it explores the ramifications of the second amendment as interpreted by some these days, the power of social media, the way society is fractured into many polarizing and often violent groups, and much more. All of the bigger issue stuff does not get lost in the core mystery as author Steve Goble weaves a complex tale. A tale that begins simply enough with asking where is Donny Blackman before asking the deeper question of what really happened at his farm.

While one is always better severed by reading a series in order, one could start here with Go Find Daddy. References to previous events are limited, and, for the most part brief, making it possible to read out of order. But, why would you when each book is so very good in its own right.

Regardless of what you choose to do, know that Go Find Daddy by Steve Goble is a good book. Also know that this is a series is one definitely well worth reading. Three books in and there has not been a weak one in the bunch.


My reading copy came by way of a NetGalley ARC.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Modern society is a minefield, and was even before Covid-19. But there was a lot of discussion at the height of the pandemic as to how writers should handle such an event. Ignore it?—or plunge into it? Steve Goble elects to skip it, but in doing so he (intentionally) shines a light on its aftermath, and what it means to us going forward. The waning of trust—in institutions, in each other seems to have accelerated to dangerous new levels. A lot of readers were waiting to see how writers would handle Covid and the post-Covid arena. If Go Find Daddy, Steve Goble’s third in his Ed Runyon series is any example, I would say—honestly, straightforwardly, levelly. Which happens to describe his hero, Ed.
Ed has left the force, gotten over (largely) his anger issues, and is trying to make it work as a private detective in small-town Ohio. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy. As he says, “accountants get head-aches from staring at a screen store clerks get head-aches from dealing with assholes all day, I get shot at. No big deal.”
But he’s about to go down the rabbit hole. A cop’s been killed. The main suspect—the only suspect as far as the police are concerned—is a right-wing podcaster who’s made his hatred for cops his brand (thus helping to diminish further our faith in authority), and who’s vanished without leaving a clue, even to his wife and child. Every cop in three states is out for his blood. And now a pro-cop entity online has offered a million dollars for him—dead. No one knows whether the offer is real, whether the organization is real, or a hoax—but it’s drawn every bounty-hunter to the chase.
All of which would have nothing to do with Ed—until he takes on a mission for the fugitive’s wife—to get a vital message to him. If you know Ed, you’ll know why it’s a job he can’t refuse (involving the fugitive’s little daughter) even though he’s going up against the fugitive’s friends and enemies both, all of whom are trigger-happy, none of whom trust each other or can be trusted. Yes. Ed Runyon gets shot at—a lot.
But Ed is a person who can be trusted, a person who holds his integrity dear, a person who can be believed, a doggedly decent man—and that’s the key to the job he’s taken on, and it’s what makes him a hero for this post-Covid age.
This is the third book in the Ed Runyon series. Jump on the bandwagon.

This book is a part of a series. Reading it as a standalone did not matter.
The plot is interesting. Ed as a character is well-crafted. The investigations and the aftermath keep the reader hooked.

Getting a former lawman, Ed Runyon, who was a deputy sheriff but now retired to solve a murder is the focus of this novel. Runyon owns and runs Whiskey River Investigations, a PI firm. He has been asked by the wife of Don Blackmon to find where her husband is, not for the murder he is suspected of committing, but to let him know that their daughter is very ill and wants to see her daddy.

Enter several law jurisdictions along with Runyon's former crew, who still like him and you have an interesting set of actions in the making. Did Blackmon actually kill the man who was found dead on his property or did someone else do it? Blackman is an anti-cop person and the dead man was a cop. This means that the others in the "blue wall:" are willing to go to great lengths to capture--either dead or alive-- to avenge the death of a brother officer!

Great action in this story and plot twists to keep the ending in mystery for a while makes this a delightful read for those interested in mysteries. If you like these type stories, I believe you will like this one.

Excellent manhunt as circumstances point to a cop killer. But did he really do it? That’s the question facing the protagonist as he leads the search.

I didn't realize this was part of a series but it clearly doesn't matter as we meet P.I. Ed Runyon right away when he is asked to find a man accused of killing a cop on his property and promptly disappeared. Wife Amy desperately wants him found as their daughter Cassie has cancer and needs her father. Ed's on it immediately! He's a great investigator and has a wry sense of humor throughout the book which makes the chase quite enjoyable! I will be interested to read the previous books in the series as Goble has created a character to love!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!