Alibi Aficionado

I enjoyed this book, probably not as funny as it was described and I found part of the ending unfair (without giving too much away). It was a very light story, easy to read and well written. Once started I wanted to read on till the end, I will look out for the next book when it come out.

"Life is filled with things called clues. Everything we do and say and see, it all provides a clue."

Alibi Aficionado introduces us to Edwin Burrows. He falls into the role of investigator when one of his firm's biggest clients moves to the wrong side of the law. He lacks a brain to mouth filter and the kind of common sense that most big time investigators possess, but the huge task of finding an alibi for the client is still thrown in his lap. Edwin stumbles through his own life, how will he save the life of someone else?

"... words told stories, but it always came down to the person reading or hearing them to draw any sense from them."

How could you not like Edwin Burrows? Yes, he says and does the wrong thing 99% of the time, but you can't help but be on his side. He's charming in a way that you don't want to admit. He knows his downfalls, but they somehow become some of his best qualities. He is the most unlikely person to be an investigator (since he still can't figure out why his own wife left him). There's a part where he can't find his wallet, only to find out he left it at the house of the person he was 'keeping an eye on'. Thank goodness for him, he has some help along the way in the form of his boss's daughter.

I read a lot of romance novels, but mystery is a genre I hold close to my heart. I love how Harvey brings out a side of this genre that isn't often done. You'll find yourself laughing at Edwin and all the ridiculous situations he gets himself into. This may be Harvey Church's debut novel, but he writes like that's exactly what he was meant to do. I hope to see much more from him in the future.

ARC provided from the publisher via NetGalley.

Accountants don’t always make great private investigators. In the Alibi Aficionado, accountant Edwin Burrows find himself bumbling along in an investigation. One he does not want to be part of but ends up passionate about.

Edwin, please don’t call him Ed, Edward nor Eddie is not a lucky man. He has a dead-end job as an accountant, his wife left him for the loan manager at their bank, and his boss is not found of him. Somewhat reluctantly Edwin is assigned to help a client at his accounting firm get out of a sexual assault complaint.

The plot deals with a billionaire hedge fund owner in Chicago being accused of rape. When the rape victim goes missing foul play is assumed and the billionaire is the prime suspect. Without a solid alibi, the billionaire asks the owners of his accounting firm for ideas. It is a hopeless task so middle managers hand it down to poor unlucky Edwin.

From the start, Edwin knows he is expected to fail this task. It is almost as if his boss is setting him up to fail as a reason to fire him. Clueless about how to investigate a case like this he dives in headfirst.

Alibi Aficionado was well written and funny. Edwin is one of those unlikable guys you can’t help but to actually like. He is crass and says some of the most inappropriate stuff. Yet this uncouth behavior comes off as charming.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was that Edwin was never at odds with the police. I get sick of amateur sleuth tales with the amateur and the police having a contentious relationship. This story barely even involved the police. Edwin was off doing his own thing in parallel to the cops.

I do have one minor complaint about guns. A charter in the story identifies a gun manufacture by a spent bullet casing. A 9mm is a 9mm casing, you can’t say it was shot from a Glock, H&K or Beretta just by looking at it. I wish authors would learn more about guns before writing about them. However, this was one paragraph so it did not detract from the overall story.

This is Harvey Church’s first novel. Hopefully, he will have more as I enjoyed Alibi Aficionado and look forward to more misadventures of Edwin the CPA turned investigator.