Todd Borg’s Owen McKenna is back in another Tahoe mystery to solve. Once again, Lake Tahoe and its environs highlight McKenna’s sleuthing skills.

It must still be summer; Todd Borg’s private detective, Owen Mckenna, is back in one of his most captivating cases ever! As fans of the McKenna Mystery Thrillers know, Borg whets our appetites with a first death (there’s always more than one) swiftly occurring in a brief Prologue. Tahoe Rescue wastes no time placing the reader next to the driver as she swerves her car from an oncoming vehicle. The reader is still sitting next to the driver as the car leaves the switchback road above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, taking a series of horrifying vehicular somersaults before crashing into trees. The mysterious crash and the victim’s last thoughts showcase Borg’s finesse at thrilling action. And that takes only two pages.

From that “accidental” death, we are introduced to McKenna’s sympathetic, possible client, a young woman, Livvy Parr, who has “a feeling,” based on emails recently received, that her life is in danger. Borg wastes no time connecting this possible client to a prior client the faithful reader will easily remember. All the McKenna Mysteries stand on their own, and Tahoe Rescue is as exciting on its own as if read in order as #22. Still, it is a clever ploy on Borg’s part to give a nod to the past, which adds to the depth of a reader’s connection and loyalty to McKenna, the early-retired San Francisco Police Department detective.

The young woman happens to be the private secretary to the earlier car crash victim. Livvy doesn’t believe the crash was an accident. Until then, Livvy lived in her own apartment within the Tahoe mansion of the dead woman. The emails are threatening and demand she leave immediately. McKenna’s sleuthing begins before taking the case. The fun part of Tahoe Mysteries is the wealth of information the reader acquires in between terrific chase scenes, clandestine plots, and enough bad guys (and gals) to sink a ship. Or, in this case, a pirate ship.

Before long, the mystery unfolds, involving a world-famous cosmetics company, the fractured family of the company’s founder, an FBI’s investigation of stolen art, a Tahoe sailboat offering theatrical pirate cruises, Central American gangs moving in on LA gangs’ Tahoe territory, and John Steinbeck’s first novel, Cup of Gold, a story of piracy written while working as a young man at Lake Tahoe. The Steinbeck’s pirate story may hold the code needed to solve the Tahoe Rescue murders, and the buying and delivery of stolen art,

No McKenna mystery is complete without Spot, his loveable Harlequin Great Dane. Spot takes a big bite out of Tahoe Rescue, getting to sink his teeth into one or two” bad guys. McKenna’s girlfriend Street, a professional entomologist, is also present, providing just enough heart to keep the romance going for another round. If this is your first Tahoe mystery, you are introduced to members of local law enforcement, who never hesitate to call on McKenna for help, counting on his experience as a retired San Francisco Police Department detective. My experience, as a Borg fan, is to recommend Tahoe Rescue. I’m now reading Steinbeck’s Cup of Gold to find that code.

Summer isn’t over, so don’t miss the chance to grab the sunscreen and a copy of Tahoe Rescue.  –  Sunny Solomon

Bookin’ with Sunny enthusiastically supports Independent Bookstores and Public Libraries.

Also available by Todd Borg: Tahoe Death Fall; Tahoe Blowup; Tahoe Ice Grave; Tahoe Killshot; Tahoe Silence; Tahoe Avalanche; Tahoe Night; Tahoe Heat; Tahoe Hijaci; Tahoe Trap; Tahoe Chase; Tahoe Ghost Boat; Tahoe Blue Fire; Tahoe Kark; Tahoe Payback; Tahoe Skydrop; Tahoe Deep; Tahoe Hit; Tahoe Jade; Tahoe Moon; Tahoe Flight.