Chutes and Ladder: A Silicon Valley Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
BGM Press (March 12, 2019)
Print Length: 195 pages

Synopsis

Dead friend. Free fall. Girl Scouts. Can Uncle Marty untangle the mystery before things really get out of control?

Juggling a budding relationship, demanding job, and mischievous nieces, Marty Golden struggled to keep his head above water — even before his friend’s death. Trying his best to be a good boyfriend and fun uncle, Marty had his own ideas for the weekend until his cunning sister tricked him again.

Convinced his friend’s death was no accident, Marty tries to summon superhero powers but merely manages to bumble along as an amateur sleuth. When Marty’s cousin shows up, she wreaks havoc with his plans and pulls him into yet another mystery.

As threats blossom, Marty doubles down now that his family’s involved. Besides, it’s poor manners to let your friend’s death go unsolved.

Can Marty figure out what happened before a killer, or his imagination, gets to him?

Chutes and Ladder is the second novel in a refreshingly modern mystery series set in Silicon Valley. If you like clever humor and wacky side characters, you’ll love this twisty mystery.

Review

Marty is back for more of his antics along with his two precious nieces and a co-worker that seems to be topping him when it comes to American sayings.

This is a good follow up to the first in this series, Uncles and Ants.  I still wonder about Marty and how he inserts himself into the cases and seems to think he is part of the investigative team.  I also wonder about his state of mind and as much as he jumps around and to conclusions, I still wonder if he is on the spectrum or leaning that way.  Despite that, I enjoy Marty’s quirkiness because it adds that little something that every story needs to make it stand out.

The mystery was engaging and while I had some suspicions as to the guilty party, I did not figure it out until it was revealed.  I think there were enough clues buried in the text but I enjoyed that it wasn’t obvious and it made me think about the potential motives of the suspected characters.

The book does leave you hanging on one fact – Marty’s sister’s car was totaled in the first book and in this one, she is waffling between what wacky color she is going to paint her new car….but it isn’t revealed which means I have to read the next book to find out!

Overall I have enjoyed this series and wonder what the author could come up with for the next book.  We give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

In my family, I was born first — a fact my sister never lets me forget, no matter what milestone age she hits.

For most of my life, I’ve been inventing stories. Some, especially when I was young, involved my sister as the villain. As my sister’s brother for her entire life, I’m highly qualified to tell the tale of the evolving, quirky sibling relationship in Uncle and Ants: A Silicon Valley Mystery.

My writing skills were honed in years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley. While my high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, we called these marketing collateral, emails, and ads.

My family and friends would tell you that Marty’s character isn’t much of a stretch of the imagination for me, but I proudly resemble that remark.

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