A Body in a Bathhouse

A Mitch O'Reilly Mystery, Book 1

De: Brad Shreve

Narrado por: Theo Sinclair

This is a private investigator whodunnit mystery novel.

On the verge of bankruptcy, private investigator Mitch O’Reilly takes any gig that comes his way while running his Eye Spy supply shop in a forgotten Los Angeles strip mall. After two tours in Afghanistan, Mitch’s life amounts to running his store, coping with his fun-loving sister Josie, and scoring with anonymous men he meets online.

That changes when he gets a break. A beloved comedy scriptwriter is murdered at a bathhouse, and Mitch is hired to prove the innocence of the club custodian. Adapting from a two-bit gumshoe to a high-profile sleuth proves more challenging than he expected.

As if Mitch didn’t have enough to deal with, playful bathhouse operator Trent Nakos enters his life. After a heartbreaking past, the manager is the definition of a man the brooding PI actively avoids.

Following leads from sprawling mansions to sketchy hoods is demanding, but becomes more troublesome when deadly threats jeopardize the biggest opportunity of his career.

This is a whodunnit mystery novel. While there is an element of romance, it is not a m/m romance novel.

©2019 Brad Shreve (P)2020 Brad Shreve

GREAT START TO A SERIES

A BODY IN THE BATHHOUSE BY BRAD SHREVE is the first in the MITCH O'REILLY MYSTERIES

Mitch is a P.I on the edge of bankruptcy when he is hired by a lawyer to find the murder of a screenwriter in a bathhouse. Mitch,along with his wacky twin sister, investigate the members and staff of the bathhouse and the friends, family and significant others in his life.

I found that once the story progressed I really got into it. The plot line and the characters will need more development but as a first in the series, Mitch O'Reilly is one series I hope to listen to more of.

The narration by Theo Sinclair was excellent as well

I recieved this audiobook free in exchange for an honest review.

Better narration than I expected

What I think of the narration:

Male narrators often aren't the best when it comes to female roles; at first, I thought this will be the case here, but I actually liked how Theo Sinclair voiced Mitch's sister even though it's much softer than I imagined her to speak. I also imagined Mitch with a gruffer voice; this one seems almost feminine at some points. Expression-wise, I wouldn't give the narrator 5/5, but he's still not bad and he has a very pleasant voice. This book makes me consider checking out what else he's worked on.

What I think of the story:

Following a character around while they ask questions should not be this enjoyable.

If you ask me exactly what attracts me to this book, I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint it. It’s just one of those reads that are altogether entertaining.

We have a sarcastic lead, nice details that sometimes sound as if listed off, but since we see the story unfold from the POV of a PI, it makes sense, and there’s also a mystery and I love me a good mystery.
By the way, this is like the old-fashioned detective stories, not like the modern, action-pack ones so until we get to the climax, expect a more chill pace.

But back to the mystery and detective work.

We are given as much info as Mitch – obviously, since it’s his POV – so if you like to think alongside the detective in your crime novels, you’ll be able to do that here. However… We were not given sufficient information to figure out who did it until the very end.

On one hand, that’s good, because we wouldn’t know for sure by the time we are fifty percent into the book and spend the rest of our reading time screaming at Mitch “It’s obvious that so-and-so did it!”

On the other, we didn’t get that satisfying “I figured who and why!” moment that makes us so proud of ourselves… Or at least makes me proud of myself when I solve the crime before the end of a novel.

Even so, I very much enjoyed this book and it’s got me hyped up for future Mitch O’Reilly Mysteries.

If I have to point out a particular scene that I thought was weak, I’d go for the intimate/adult one(read the book and you’ll know which I mean). It didn’t really titillate me and it’s not something I’d remember from this book.

Whodunit???

A Body In A Bathhouse is an excellent murder mystery detective novel that will keep you guessing and have you, and keep you, on the edge of your seat. Its an easy book to read and it makes you want to read more. The characters are likable (most of the time) and entertaining (all of the time). They are introduced to the reader in stages. We're given new information about them throughout the novel. I felt I could identify (at least in part) with most of them. The story and the characters are so real, they could easily have been pulled from the pages of the L.A. Times. There are big and small twists to the storyline that keep you interested, sometimes scratching your head and thinking "I didn't see THAT coming!" Elements of humor are also sprinkled throughout. Its a great whodunit novel that had me guessing right up the end. This writer knows his stuff when it comes to a good murder mystery. I look forward to more adventures with Mitch.

Did not finish

You know how everyone has those annoying relatives that they put up with anyway because they're family and families stick together? Occasionally, a fictional character has a relative like that and the author makes the grave error to assume that their audience feels the same way about that family member as their protagonist does. The main character's sister in this book is a genuinely annoying person to the point where I think she's either mentally challenged or a bona fide sociopath. Every time she's in a scene she's doing or saying something infuriating. This culminates about a third of the way through the book when the protagonist, for some reason (he's not a great detective), brings her along to question a witness and she ends up breaking into the witness's house while dragging her brother along for the ride. I think maybe we're supposed to find her hilarious, but It was such incongruous, slapstick nonsense that I put the book down and I'm about to return it. I was already wary because--OF COURSE--a gay detective has to be involved in A Very Gay Mystery™ that takes place in a bathhouse. Newsflash, people, gay professionals exist and the business they deal with doesn't always have to involve a 90% gay cast. Not buying another book from this author.

DNF

This was a DNF for me. I listened to the first three hours and just could not take it anymore. The main character was ok, but everyone else was straight up annoying. I found myself hoping that the love interest was a red herring, the sister needed to grow up, I wanted the guy they were trying to prove innocent to be found guilty, and things said like ‘I’ve never slept with and Italian’ just grated my nerves.