Book Review: The Man Who Lost His Pen by Gayleen Froese

3.5⭐
Genre ~ LGBTQ+ Mystery
Series ~ Ben Ames Case Files, #2)
Others in the series ~ The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out
Setting ~ Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Publication date ~ May 16, 2023
Page Count ~ 292 (25 chapters)
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ private detective, murder, locked room

My review:

Ben is a private detective and boyfriend, Jesse (Jack), is a music star. They’re at a music charity event together when a man is found dead.

Matt was a sexual predator, so not a character you’d mind being killed. We have a locked room vibe since no one is allowed to leave the premises.

It’s a bit of a slow burn since the murder did not happen right away. We get a good amount of character development, which makes the suspect pool rather high with Jesse at the top of the list. Did I figure out who the murderer was early on? Sure did, but I enjoyed watching the detective work play out until the chilling end. And by detective work I mean Ben’s because the actual police detective was not the best at his job.

Overall, I liked this one slightly less than the previous, but still a solid PI read.

Series notes:
For sure read book 1 first so you can meet Ben properly. Here’s my review.

*Thanks to the author for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Add to your never ending TBR  ~ goodreads

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.

Book blurb:

Calgary PI Ben Ames expects a relaxing evening off as he supports his boyfriend, Jesse, one of the star performers at a charity concert. But it turns out relaxing isn’t on the program.

When last-minute guest Matt Garrett shows up, it creates a frenzy backstage. An A-list movie star with an ego to match, Garrett has bad blood with many of the performers—Jesse included. So when Garrett turns up dead, Ben begins to dig for the truth, both to protect Jesse and to satisfy his own instinctive curiosity.  

So much for his night off. 

When the police arrive, emotions backstage heat up, but no one can step out to cool off, because the Western Canadian winter is so cold that hypothermia waits outside. With such a high-profile crime, the lead detective seems poised to make a quick arrest… and Jesse’s a prime suspect. Ben has his work cut out for him to solve the murder under the police and paparazzi’s noses before Jesse’s reputation becomes collateral damage.

Connect with Gayleen 💕 Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~ Website

Thanks for stopping by!  Visit my bookish product page here 🥰📚
Connect with me ⬇