Blueblood (Marty Singer Mystery #2)

By: Matthew Iden

Narrated by: Lloyd Sherr

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Four unrelated murders. Nothing special in Washington DC. Not even good enough to make the evening news. But then a concerned police lieutenant approaches retired homicide detective Marty Singer with a simple fact that changes everything.

They were all cops.

In a race to stop the killings, Marty tackles the case from the outside, chasing the killer from deadly Southeast DC to the heart of the Virginia gangland, on a mission to stop the spilling of yet more Blueblood.

©2014 Matthew Iden (P)2014 Matthew Iden

Terrific cop series

love this series! I am listening to them in order, and can hardly set routines aside to hear every exciting, thoughtful word. Marty is both funny and smart, thoughtful living under the burden of colorectal cancer diagnosis. despite this he refuses to give in to self- pity, or seclusion. he feels the fear, pain of cancer but continues with life. I especially enjoy his relationship with young Amanda, more a daughter than young lover as is often the case in many cop novels. it allows reader to observe tender side of our hero, Marty an ordinary extraordinary detective. great listen!

A worthy addition to the genre!

Note: While this is Book 2 in the series, it works just fine as a stand alone.

Marty Singer returns to more private investigation work. His last case was forced upon him and he’s reluctant to take on this new case. He’s still fighting cancer and wants to focus his time and energy on that and enjoying what he can of his early retirement. But an aging cop, Sam Bloch, asks for his help in looking into four seemingly unrelated murders scattered across a few precincts. Right away, Marty is intrigued. On the surface, nothing appears to link the cases. Yet as he digs into the details, he begins to wonder if he isn’t dealing with a serial cop killer.

Once again, Matthew Iden delivers a captivating murder mystery. I really enjoyed Book 1 (A Reason to Live) and this book continues the same quality entertainment. Marty is a bit of a history buff, a little bit of a wise ass, and a sometimes lonely man who has his heart in the right pace. Amanda Lane, who we met in Book 1, continues to be his surrogate daughter. She’s graduating and has started applying for jobs, some of which could take her out of the DC metro area. Poor Marty has a little heart ache over that but would never ask Amanda to take a job closer to home if it’s not what she wanted.

The murder mystery itself was fascinating. There are details in each case that fit the theory of a serial cop killer, but then there are also a few details in some of the cases that don’t fit. So it’s a bit of a jumble upon first inspection. I really enjoyed watching Marty dig into these cases. The cops were undercover, incorporating themselves into various gangs in the area. The author did a great job of showing how that undercover work affected the cops’ families.

There’s some nitty gritty goodness for this story and it gave this almost hard-boiled cop ambiance to the plot. I like that things are messy and that Marty has to keep reminding himself that not everyone (outside of certain professions like cops and medical personnel) can look at crime scene photos the way he does. While the gruesome violence is made crystal clear to the reader, the author doesn’t linger over it. This isn’t a horror flick; it’s a great PI crime story with a few horrific details.

The ending was satisfying. The murder mystery had me guessing at the details until the big reveal. Marty experiences some danger and putting the killer away is a little slice of bitter justice. All in all, an excellent read.

The Narration: Lloyd Sherr continues to be an excellent pick for Marty Singer. I like his voice for wise-ass Marty. He has distinctive voices for all the other characters, doing a very good job with the female character voices as well. He tossed in several regional accents which was great.

too short

I enjoyed the storyline however I think it went to short but then again I have to get the next book in the series.

Really okay

This was just OK. I cannot really recommend it but did not find it to be objectionable in any way.

Cop Killers vs Marty Singer

The second in the Marty Singer series is top rate, just like the first one. Marty still having a rough time as a retired as a Washington DC retired homicide detective as he continues his chemo treatment for cancer is approached by a friend in the police department about several “seemingly” unrelated, but similar cop killings. Still close friends with graduating college student, Amanda, who has become like his daughter, Marty is dreading Amanda finding a job cross country in her field and leaving DC . . . and him. The hard-boiled retired detective, divorced and alone, is really a kind and loving man, drawn to the down trodden and mistreated . . . and always trying to balance the scales of justice. This case is no exception. As he investigates, things get sticky . . . FAST. Great tale of good versus evil . . . and excellent conclusion.

Good detective story

Blueblood is a worthwhile but not excellent cop story set in the Washington DC area where Marty Singer is a retired cop with cancer working to see if several killings of policemen are related. Narration by Lloyd Sherr is outstanding.