Under Pressure: From the Casefiles of Detective "Mal" Malone (The Detective Malone Mystery Series Book 3)

Mal and her team are determined to put the gangster Dessi in jail once and for all, but after a string of dead ends, they are running out of leads. With Rhodes on her side, and both old and new friends to rely on, Mal is sure they will be able to act soon, but their one ace in the hole, an illegally planted bug in the conference room of underground criminals is running out of battery life. To complicated things, Mal is given a side case tracking suspicious activity at a nursing home and another investigating a mysterious customer at a pet store. Just when things are getting rougher, Dessi ups his game of cat and mouse. With so much going on, and the stakes getting higher, Mal and friends are going to need a lot of coffee and a lucky break to beat him at his own game for good!

The third installment in this mystery series, “Under Pressure” concludes the three-part mystery around Dessi and his crime. Though the side cases are started and completed within this book, readers may want to start with book one to fully understand all the characters, their stories and just how they ended up connected to Mal. Mal herself is an interesting blend of independence, determination, and a little doubt. Her relationship with Rhodes is realistic and yet full of sparks. Her friendships are admirable, and the interplay between Mal and some of the local gangsters is delightfully convoluted. Overall, fans of mysteries with geeky references, solid characters, an interesting mystery, and levels of depth to their characters should definitely give this book a look!

Sarah E Bradley