Review: The Next One Will Kill You by Neil S. Plakcy

Title: The Next One Will Kill You by Neil S. Plakcy
Angus Green Series Book One
Publisher: Diversion Books
Genre: Contemporary, M/M, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 207 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

If Angus Green is going to make it to a second case, he’s needs to survive the first one.

Angus wants more adventure than a boring accounting job, so after graduating with his master’s degree he signs up with the FBI. He’s assigned to the Miami field office, where the caseload includes smugglers, drug runners, and gangs, but he starts out stuck behind a desk, an accountant with a badge and gun.

Struggling to raise money for his little brother’s college tuition, he enters a strip trivia contest at a local bar. But when he’s caught with his pants down by a couple of fellow agents, he worries that his extracurricular activities and his status as the only openly gay agent will crash his career. Instead, to his surprise, he’s added to an anti-terrorism task force and directed to find a missing informant.

It’s his first real case: a desperate chase to catch a gang of criminals with their tentacles in everything from medical fraud to drugs to jewel theft. With every corner in this case—from Fort Lauderdale’s gay bars to the morgue—turning to mayhem, Angus quickly learns that the only way to face a challenge is to assume that he’ll survive this one—it’s the next one that will kill him.

Review:

Featuring an intriguing storyline, a wonderful cast of characters and a fantastic setting, The Next One Will Kill You, the first book in Neil S. Plakcy’s Angus Green series, is a riveting mystery starring a gay rookie FBI agent.

Accountant turned FBI Agent Angus Green is still learning the ropes at his new job  when two fellow agents ask him to try to locate and interview a missing informant who works in a gay club.  Eager to get out from behind his desk and into the field,  he is quick to begin his investigation.  Fearing the worst once he discovers Paco has missed work and no one has seen him in a few days, Angus uses his connections to try and track down the missing man.  Although his official assignment is to locate Paco and ensure an upcoming jewelry show’s security is strong enough to withstand an attack, Angus discovers startling information about a suspected pill mill operation.  What, if any, link is there between the two cases?

Angus is a quick thinking, highly intelligent young man who is quite devoted to his younger brother, Danny.  While pushing paper and crunching number is not overly exciting, he enjoys the challenge of working for the FBI.  Angus is well-liked by everyone in his life and he has an uncanny ability to form an instant rapport with new acquaintances.  This serves him well as he interviews Paco’s friends and co-workers and he quickly follows every lead he uncovers.  He is quite dedicated to his job and he puts in long hours filling out paperwork, following up on clues and staking out suspects.  Although Angus is a little impetuous on occasion, he has a good head on his shoulders and excellent instincts as an investigator.

The hunt for the missing informant quickly takes a dark turn and this provides Angus an added incentive to get to the bottom of what happened to Paco.  He also comes with a few plausible scenarios as to why the jewelry show is being targeted but he struggles to find proof to back up his theories.  Angus unexpectedly stumbles onto a connection with another ongoing FBI investigation into a drug ring, but are the two cases related?

The Next One Will Kill You is a solid mystery with an engaging storyline and a cast of appealing characters.  Angus is a tenacious sleuth with plenty of charm and an outgoing, sunny personality. The plot is interesting and the mystery is quite intriguing.  Neil S. Plakcy’s Angus Green series is off to a strong start with this first installment and fans of the genre will be eagerly awaiting the next mystery starring the intrepid FBI rookie agent.