5 stars!
Julie Leo's private investigator mystery, The Last Four Digits, is a quirky and clever take on the crime noir genre. Lola's a private eye because she loves sleuthing, and she's willing to take chances to catch her villains, but the image of her trying to drive while applying nail polish and coping with a bee sting lends a definite note of humor to the story that follows. This klutzy and gutsy noir heroine is a joy to follow as she disregards warnings from sinister men in trench coats and travels up and down Southern California's Pacific Coast Highway in search of her prey. Leo's tale is well-plotted and includes plenty of puzzles for the mystery fan to unravel, but she also drops in a few tributes to classic detectives of the past which will equally delight discerning readers. Lola Vega and her two unlikely partners, the dishy Detective Michael Escobar and the psychic Molly O'Reilly, are well-crafted, authentic and believable characters. I'm looking forward to reading about Vega's further investigations. The Last Four Digits is highly recommended.