Web of Deceit

The Dewey Webb Historical Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Renee Pawlish

Narrated by: John Fleming

It's 1949. World War II is over, but it has a way of haunting people for years to come.

Gordon Sandalwood suspects his wife Edith is hiding something from him, and he asks Denver private investigator Dewey Webb to find out what. Dewey, toughened by his own war experiences, reluctantly takes the case, certain it will lead to nothing. But when he sees Edith rendezvous with a mysterious man, Dewey realizes his assumptions might be wrong. As he digs deeper to identify the stranger, he turns up secrets that reach back into the war, and as he unravels a web of deceit, he discovers who has the most to gain, and the most to lose.

A hard-boiled, historical mystery that's great for fans who love a traditional detective crime story with a noir flavor, but without a lot of sex or swearing.

Dewey Webb first appeared in the Reed Ferguson mystery, Back Story. Pick up a copy of Back Story to find out more about this classic hard-boiled detective.

The Dewey Webb historical mystery series:

• Book one: Web of Deceit
• Book two: Murder In Fashion
• Book three: Secrets and Lies
• Book four: Honor Among Thieves
• Book five: Trouble Finds Her
• Short story: Second Chance
• Short story: Double Cross

©2016 Renee Pawlish (P)2019 Renee Pawlish

greed and lies

I love how the PI becomes a co- conspirator with the person he's supposed to be investing! WTH,??? The only person I felt empathy for was Gordon. His lying wife and the cuckolding made me furious. Edith should have had the decency to be honest with her husband. !!!!! I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job bringing it to life.

A nice change: less sex and violence.

I don't think I consciously felt overwhelmed by the sex and violence in many modern detective novels but Renee Pawlish's book has an Agatha Christy-esque feel to it.

Perfect period piece

This story has lots of post war language and settings. Very classic. Enjoyed the narration. The story had lots of twists and characters.

Great Mystery

Blackmail, old secrets, and lots of scoundrels make this an exciting read all the way to the end.

Clunky but entertaining

The narration was very good.
The story was fun but slow, and not in the way noirs were when they were more popular.
The writing was clunky in that too much explanation was given where none was required - the author should have more confidence in her readers’ intelligence. Any explanation is too much. There were many descriptions given when bookended by a scene, she should have incorporated as many descriptions as possible into scenes, it would make the writing more crisp and less loose. While the dialogue was good it also seemed affected in places, like some of the descriptions- reaching a little too hard for period authenticity. Instead it was a little distracting and irritating, momentarily drawing this reader out of the story - never a good thing. At half way I wasn’t going to finish, but decided to plow on through.