Tommy Jeffers (aka “Pancake”) is on his way from Gulf Shores to Fairhope to reconnect with an old friend. He and Emily Patterson were an item in sixth grade but haven’t seen each other since. This visit is to check into her financial affairs for her lawyer because Emily is divorcing her husband, Sean. Pancake arrives at the bakery where Emily works, but Emily is not there. The owner says this is very strange, because Emily is always on time, or lets her know when she’s not coming in. Tommy goes to Emily’s house, only to find the front door open, her car in the garage and a truck parked in the driveway. But no one is there.

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The next morning, a neighbor of Emily finds two dead bodies on his property. The police identify them as Emily Patterson and Jason Collins, Emily’s new boyfriend. Pancake calls in his boss, Ray Langley, of Langley Investigations, along with his best friend Jake Langley (Ray’s son) and Nicole Jamison. The local Chief of Police isn’t too eager to have outside investigators prying around in this murder case but relents when Emily’s brother hires Ray to find out who killed his sister, execution-style. As the team begins putting the pieces together and interviewing people, everyone has an alibi, and there are very few leads. Could drugs be involved? Can the team find Emily’s killer before this becomes a cold case?

I’m so glad that D.P. Lyle has given us another adventure in his Jake Langley Series. He’s one of my favorite authors. RIGGED is an intriguing story of the adventures of this mismatched entourage who work together to solve this murder case. The storyline is a creative one, and the plot takes many twists and turns but moves along quickly. New characters keep popping up in the investigation, and Mr. Lyle seamlessly works them into the story. The touches of humor throughout and banter between the characters is very refreshing. This series just keeps getting better and better. Although this is a series, RIGGED can be read as a stand-alone. But you should really read the first three books and enjoy those adventures too!

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