I really enjoyed reading this book. The character in this book, Delilah West, is an intelligent struggling private detective which is bound by a new client by coincidences that can only be sorted out by skills and courage, since the book is set in an era not so far away but that seems so distant now with all the technology available. Couldn’t put it down till I finished reading and found out who really was the bad guy. Praise to Maxine O'Callaghan for a great story.

Delilah is checking out an employee for fraud. She finds what she needs fairly easily and turns the girl in. The girl is denying it, but who admits it? When she gets out of jail, she calls Delilah again. When Delilah calls back, she gets no answer. Who can answer the phone when they're dead?

Brash Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published August 4th, so grab a copy then.

Delilah feels a bit guilty about the girl's death so she's willing to look into it. One of her other clients has been accused of the murder because she touched the knife and got blood on herself. Delilah is pretty sure she didn't do it, so she's going to have to look for the real murderer.

Her first clue that something is off when she finds out she was set up. The girl was innocent; she was framed. When she gets a letter bomb, she gets more serious and asks for help from other sources.

Delilah is still trying to figure out if she can ever love again. She has a friend who would like to be more and she has a man that fascinates her but is way too rich for a relationship with her to work. I don't know how many more books it will take to get her settled her down.

The story is a mixed plot with several things going on. Between politicians, lawyers, protestors and jealousy, there's plenty to keep Delilah busy. The tale is interesting and there's plenty of danger. I was surprised to learn who the killer was. This is another twisted tale with Delilah at the center.

Delilah West - a good name for a private eye, no? It brings to mind a cunning femme fatale and hints at a notion of the dangerous strength of women. So much implied in just a name! But Delilah West is not a pure stereotype. She is a self-motivated woman, 36 years old, previously married, trying not to think about a boyfriend she hasn't seen in quite a while and trying to ignore her bordering-on-lustful feelings toward a new man in her life. As the story starts she is on a stake-out and the target is a woman Delilah fingered as a thief during an undercover investigation. It is hot, she is sweating in her new van and has been sitting and waiting for far too long and has to pee. She mops sweat trickling down her face, she squirms and sighs and wonders how long she can hold out before going to look for a bathroom.

Later in the week, having wrapped up the undercover investigation, Delilah meets a friend for lunch and discovers that it isn't really the social occasion she had thought; it's a set-up for a meeting with a potential client, a raw-boned pioneer woman environmentalist, a veteran of protests and tear gas and arrests, and she has received a letter bomb. She just isn't sure about having Delilah handle her case, or even if there is a need for a PI.

Thus begins a thrilling and confusing story that starts with a very concrete, visceral vision of Delilah's discomfort with the heat, then being set up and tricked, and moves steadily toward theft, bombing, murder, and a number of possible perpetrators, all occurring before the backdrop of a natural environment that has been denuded and raped for commercial gain. Delilah's focus, however, is not on the environment, nor even the physical clues. Rather, she concentrates on the people involved, observing and listening - to how her suspects talk to a spouse, conduct business, keep secrets, etc. She interprets the motives behind these actions, makes inferences and homes in on the guilty party, all fueling a growing awareness of the mortal danger she and others face.

Delilah West is cast in a mold similar to the ones that shape Kinsey Millhone (Sue Grafton's character), Sharon McCone (Marcia Muller), V.I. Warshawski (Sara Paretsky), and a slew of other female sleuths. The concrete details we learn of them are formed by their clothing (they all seem to prefer jeans or sweats), their hair, their cars (very functional), their friends and relationships, their favorite hang-outs, and their nostalgia for earlier, saner times. For each, instinct and intuition are unquestionably useful investigative tools, but each also keeps carefully detailed records, a gun, just in case, and wrestles with the onus of running a business and maintaining sufficient cash flow. These are realistic women who choose to work in dire situations, motivated both by the excitement and by a drive to help restore order to a chaotic world, to set things right. They are tough-minded and active professionals, preferring the field to the desk and focussed totally on their professions. Delilah and her cohorts are fun to read and inspiring!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first Delilah West book I've read. It has great characters and lots of action, some a little violent. Delilah is a private detective at odds with the local police. She is hired to find an embezzler and sets off a series of events that put several city council members, herself and her staff in dire jeopardy. Fast paced, this is a good read for the mystery fan.

Thanks to netgalley.com, Maxine O'Callaghan and Brash Books for the advance copy for my review.

Totally enjoyed this one, even though it was easy to figure out who the bad guy was and pretty clever how she basically hid the murderer in plain sight. Oh she gave a few clues, once I finished it I realized it, just made her story so much better ending wise and really liked Maxine's writing style.

RBP's Spenser and Magnum PI TV Show, got me hooked reading PI books and Delilah West would have fit right in with both. It would be oh so priceless Magnum riding shotgun in an Astro van, with Delilah.

I did like the Delilah character, she's strong, witty, oh so human, seems to have a knack to get caught in awkward situations and never seems to have her .38 handy, when she really needs it. Got a good laugh out of Delilah's ride being a Chevrolet Astro van. I also liked Danny, Harry and the other characters around her.

Absolutely loved that this was chocked full of important details, twists and turns, multiply storylines and no fluff, just to add extra needless reading.

The Set-Up was originally released in 1991, absolutely love that were seeing out of print, hard to find series being released as ebooks and being made available again.

Definitely a worthy author and series to check out.

Good story with lots going on to maintain interest the whole way through. I liked the character of Delilah West and the hint of a relationship with Eric, adds a bit of spice. Good read.

Set-up by Maxine O'Callaghan is 2015 Brash Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although Maxine O'Callaghan has written a string of mystery novels, they were published back in the early to mid- nineties, and they were off my radar at that point, so it wasn't until Brash Books began reissuing these books in digital format that I discovered this author and the Delilah West mysteries, which is one more reason why I love electronic books and e-readers.

In this fourth Delilah West mystery, we find our heroine doing much better, building a clientele and making a little money which has her living a more stable life. However, she is also quite aware that she has been receiving a little help from someone and that it's time to put a stop to it and stand on her own merits now.

But, life gets shaky in a hurry when Delilah falls victim to a set - up that eventually leads to murder. While the prime suspect certainly looks guilty, Delilah is positive she's innocent and sets out to find the real murderer.

I really like Delilah and if you are a fan of the Sue Grafton alphabet series, you will most likely find these books appealing. Told in first person, we are privy to all of Delilah's crime solving thoughts, her musings on her personal life, and are treated to her self deprecating humor, wit, and humanity. Despite the tough outer shell she presents, she's really a nice, caring person with human foibles and desires, and is someone I couldn't help but cheer for.

The story is pretty basic, and the plot is not really all that original, by today's standards, but there were some pretty tense and suspenseful moments along the way.

On a more personal note, Delilah's private life is still up in the air as far as romance is concerned and I'm hoping something will come from her relationship with Eric, who seems plenty contrite and is perhaps worthy of a chance.

One thing to keep in mind is the time frame these stories were written in. Although there was a brief cell phone reference, something that made me wonder if perhaps this was thrown in the digital version as an afterthought, in an attempt to modernize the story a little, because I'm thinking only a few people had cell phones in the early nineties. If that was indeed the case, it would have been better to have left that out, because it stuck out like a sore thumb. No internet, answering machines, and several other huge clues, make it obvious this book is not set in present day.

However, I thought the nostalgia was part of the story's charm, and rather liked the old school detective skills, which did not rely on computers and smart phones to do all the work.

This is a short read, well plotted and written, nice steady pacing, and a pretty solid mystery, despite it's ordinary storyline, and the action/suspense elements more than make up for anything lacking in that area. I enjoyed this whodunit and recommend it to anyone that likes reading mysteries.

This book was first published in 1991. Since I was reading mystery/thrillers at that time, I don't know how I missed this author. But I'm glad I finally found her; she is a really good writer. I loved this book so much that I have already purchased the first books of the series. I like that the author makes Delilah West a strong woman character. The plot was well written, the characters well developed. There is enough action and suspense to keep you interested and I didn't find any slow spots. I truly enjoyed the whole book and can't wait to start her other books, this time from the beginning of the series.
I received this free book from NetGalley for an honest review.