Body Broker – Daniel M. Ford

Santa Fe Writer's Project | September 1, 2019 | Paperback

A houseboat-dwelling private eye. Nordic biker cultists. High-protein almond butter. Missing kids. Hardcore deadlift sessions. Drug dealers. When high school track star, Gabriel Kennelly, disappears from his elite boarding school in Maryland after turning eighteen, local authorities put freelancing private investigator, Jack Dixon, on the case.

Some think Gabriel ran away because he couldn't take the athletic and academic pressures put on him anymore. Others say he disappeared to get his evasive and absent father's attention. But Jack doesn’t care what everyone thinks, he only cares about uncovering the truth about what happened to Gabriel. And his quest to find the truth (and the promise he made to Gabriel’s friends and mother) quickly launches him into an elitist world where money—especially old money—can buy just about anything.

In a genre filled with trigger-happy private eyes, Jack’s talk first, throw some punches, and shoot never mentality is refreshing. He lives for the puzzles rather than the chase. He’s described as a college dropout, ex-cop, and ex-chef. But Jack is completely fine with being a bit of a loner. He takes solace in his daily routine of waking up, eating a scoop—or two—of almond butter, going to the gym, listening to Orioles games, going to bed, and repeating. And then when he runs out of money he picks up an investigation or some other side hustle. Giving Jack an off-beat personality is a great move on Ford’s part because it allows him to strike a nice balance between character and plot throughout the novel. So although Jack’s character doesn’t significantly develop in this installment, his personality and the relationships he shares with the other characters are well-defined and complex enough to keep readers invested and itching to know where the series will go next.