The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1

The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling

This is a collection of three stories: Primal Red, Evergreen, Black Cat Ink

“Primal Red” finds Peter Fontaine hoping to break a big story. He likes working for The Bellinghamseter, but he wants a story that will be noted, that will make his name. So he’s watching the Pierogy Tea Café, which everyone knows is a front for some kind of house of ill repute. But what he ends up witnessing is the artist he’s had a crush on, kneeling over the body of a woman bleeding out.

He couldn’t tell them about the Pierogy Tea Café. Not yet. He didn’t have enough material to write his piece. So he said, “I was trying to get up the courage to ask Nick Olson out on a date.”

The two police officers glanced at each other then Officer Clarkson said, “I think you might want to re-evaluate your plans.”

Which is how Peter ends up dating Nick Olsen.

The second story, “Evergreen”, finds the Peter and Nick camping out in the snow for New Year’s Eve.

The puffiness of their parkas changed their proportions, giving the scene the impression of extremely industrious children busy making the world’s greatest snow fort.

It also has the best line I have ever read an amateur detective utter.

“I do not think I’m Miss Marple, asshole. I think I’m Jim Rockford.”

“Black Cat Ink” closes out the first volume, with a Halloween story. Peter finds a wounded kitten, which leads him to search for possible satanists as well as a stolen piece of art.

“Has it occurred to you that it might actually be more dangerous to go poking around the property of an animal mutilator than a cracked-out Satanist?”

“Why? You’re not a cat.”

A kitten that Nick doesn’t seem initially to want.

“I also decided to give her an interim name so that I’d have something to yell apart from No.”

I enjoy both the characters and the mysteries here.

Publisher : One Block Empire
Rating: 8.5/10

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