Night Drop

The Pinx Video Mysteries

By: Marshall Thornton

Narrated by: Jack Meloche

It's 1992 and Los Angeles is burning.

Noah Valentine, the owner of Pinx Video in Silver Lake, notices the fires have taken their toll on fellow shopkeeper Guy Peterson's camera shop. After the riots end, he decides to stop by Guy’s to pick up his overdue videos, only to find Guy’s family dividing up his belongings. He died in the camera store fire, or did he?

Noah and his charmingly meddlesome downstairs neighbors begin to suspect something else might have happened to Guy Peterson. Something truly sinister.

The first in a new series from Lambda Award-winner Marshall Thornton, Night Drop strikes a lighter tone than the Boystown Mysteries, while bringing Silver Lake of the early 1990s to life.

©2017 Marshall Thornton (P)2020 Marshall Thornton

Loads of Fun!

Night Drop was a fun little mystery, I see why Marshall Thornton's Pinx Video Mystery series is popular.

Not sure why, but I literally couldn't stop thinking about Guy Pierce whenever they said Guy Peterson. Poor Guy Pierce lol.

The audiobook series is nicely performed by Jack Meloche. Meloche has an interesting and unusual voice and it suits the characters in this story.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Surprising ending - in more ways than one. Fell in love with this character from my era and struggles. Smart. Funny. Insightful.

Accidental Death or Murder?

The first book of 'The Pinx Murder Mysteries' series, 'Night Drop', is set in L.A. during the Rodney King case verdict that resulted in rioting throughout the city. The owner of Pinx Video, Noah Valentine, becomes embroiled in the death of an acquaintance, Guy Peterson, the owner of a local camera shop. At first, the death is declared accidental but Noah starts to believe something more sinister happened.

In this first installment of the series, the reader is introduced to Noah. He is a man who has experienced tragedy and now just goes through the motions of life. After finding out Guy is dead and witnessing Guy's family's odd behavior, he starts to investigate the death himself. Noah is tenacious while looking for clues to what happened.

Noah has help in his investigation from Marc and Louis, his neighbors, and Leon, another acquaintance. They prove to be smart, capable and loyal friends. They also, at times, are the source of levity in the story. As secondary characters, they are well-drawn.

The story reminds me of a cozy mystery. There is a regular person who stumbles upon a mysterious death and using their brains and ingenuity, and sometimes naivete and carelessness, apprehend the culprit. It ticks all my mystery reading boxes.

The setting is great, The plot keeps the reader guessing. There are a few twists I didn't see ahead of time. The characterizations are top-notch. Jack Meloche does a brilliant narration. Overall, it's a winner by author Marshall Thornton.

I received a free review copy of this audiobook, at my request. I have written this voluntary review of it in exchange.

Highly recommended.

Great start to an amazing series

I read this book when it came out so I was excited to listen to it. I have to say that I am a fan of this author. Loved it as much as when I read it. A great mystery filled with twists and turns. I love the dark sense of humour- very much like my own. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. The ending had my eyes watering but it did pull the story together and explained a lot. Definitely a book to keep and will listen to again.

Mystery upon mystery upon mystery. Wow!

It's 1992 and Los Angeles is suffering from riots and lootings precipitated by the 'not guilty' verdict for the police officers in the Rodney King beating. But there is way more corruption going on in the Los Angeles Police Department and protagonist Noah Valentine, the owner of Pinx Video Rental in Silver Lake, wanders into it. It starts with the realization that a fellow businessman was burned to death in his camera shop during the lootings but the inventory and the money in the register are untouched. Marshall Thornton's Night Drop, brilliantly narrated by Jack Meloche, weaves an incredibly entertaining mystery that zags when you expect a zig then adds a couple of dangerous speed bumps to the already exhilarating ride. I cannot tell you how delighted I was to discover that this is the first of a series. I am so looking forward to reading more.