THE ESMERALDA GOODBYE by Corey Lynn Fayman – Mystery, Crime Thriller, Police Procedural

In The Esmeralda Goodbye, Corey Lynn Fayman crafts a suspenseful crime story about a patrolman who becomes entangled in a criminal saga with stakes as high as his life.

The duty of investigating a suicide threat made by well-known author Raymond Chandler falls to Jake Stirling, one of the newest members of the San Diego Police Department. With a deft maneuver, Jake prevents Chandler from ending his life when he visits his apartment. This success fills Jake with excitement to make a name for himself in his new career as a police officer.

Months later, he’s called to investigate the theft of a diamond necklace from the Del Charro Hotel. Jake first questions a hopeful lead: J. Edgar, the FBI Director, who just so happened to be there during the raid. But though Jake plans to simply file a report so that detectives can be assigned to the case, he’s taken aback when the director encourages him to give up the case and concentrate his time elsewhere, such as assisting the decent, law-abiding citizens in the neighborhood. As he mulls over the director’s idea, a well-known name from the Creeper case— which had ruined his father, a police officer before his death— reappears.

Jake becomes engrossed in speculations about a piece of interest he took from Chandler’s house a few months earlier.

Moreover, he encounters a formidable investigative officer who is secretly working with a web of cartels. Jake’s life takes a drastic turn after a buddy passes away, and he quickly discovers that his independent demeanor has given his bosses cause for concern. Bearing down on him all the while, the Creeper case has turned its destructive attention from father to son.

Fayman has crafted a page-turner filled with drama, intrigue, and thrilling action that readers will find difficult to put down.

Starting with an unlikely sequence of events, the first chapters reveal unexpected motivations from unlikely individuals. A steady and regulated pace during the uncovering of the mystery keeps readers steeped in curiosity and ever-changing theories, with skillful distribution of clues. New information gradually comes to light through the interactions of real, multifaceted individuals, and a high degree of tension stretches from beginning to end.

“The Esmeralda Goodbye” is a masterpiece with excellent character development. Its remarkable tale and charming hero revel in the excess of 1950s Southern California atmospheres.