TAHOE SPEED

A private investigator takes on an insurance case and uncovers a conspiracy in Borg’s mystery novel.

In France, skier Colin Burns dies breaking a speed record (he “windmilled for 300 yards before his limp body, flailing like a rag doll, came to a stop”), but something about his death is suspicious. A few months later, in Tahoe, private investigator Owen McKenna finds an abandoned dog and gets a call from Geneviève Laurent, Colin’s girlfriend, who enlists his help with an issue related to Colin’s life insurance. Owen meets with her, and she provides him with a wealth of information about Colin’s life, friends, and family. Owen also questions Colin’s oversharing friends. He discovers that the abandoned dog, Lazlo, belonged to the chef at the Hungarian restaurant where Colin used to work; that chef, János, has gone missing. Owen pursues a copy of Colin’s autopsy report because he suspects foul play on the part of the insurance company—the autopsy indicates an unlikely injury. Then, Geneviève’s restaurant burns down—likely the result of arson—after she’d been harassed by a group of men extorting money from local restaurants. As Owen digs into both cases, he and his family find themselves in danger. The idea that gravity might not have been the culprit in Colin’s death should have been introduced sooner—there’s an inkling of that in the prologue, but it initially seems that Owen is doing a lot of investigative work that feels above and beyond due diligence for an insurance claim. This is an ongoing series, so readers get a peek at Owen’s personal life through his endearing relationships with his long-term girlfriend, Street, and her adopted daughter, Camille. Dog lovers will enjoy the near-constant presence of several pooches. The novel contains some great action and suspense sequences, and the main characters are fully fleshed out and feel authentic. Borg also offers a lot of engaging local details about Tahoe. Overall, this series installment works just fine as a standalone mystery, and it’s a fun read.

An exciting, snowy murder mystery.