Time-Shifting Private Eye — Lions In The Fog

The Paradox P.I. Series, Nathan Van Coops

Time of Death (Paradox P.I. #1), November 2020 (171pgs)

Electric Midnight (Paradox P.I. 2), November 2021 (320pgs)

The Clockwork Game (Paradox P.I. 3), May 2022 (206pgs)

Tomorrow Detective (Paradox P.I. 4), December 2022 (249pgs)

Greyson Travers is a private investigator with a twist: he can travel through time. This isn’t the slam-dunk you might think, though -- it turns out that there are rules, bad guys, and a time-travel bureaucracy keeping a beady eye on things. Not to mention that the nature of the cases themselves are enough to keep any detective on his toes, which these do with style.

“I’d spent a fair amount of my life confused about things—the complexities of women’s emotions for one. I’d never known which armrest in an airplane middle seat belonged to me, and pretty much everything about the sport of cricket seemed ludicrous.”

— Grayson Travers, in touch with his limits.

Time of Death opens in fine noir style, with the appearance of an extremely attractive recent widow, Isla Phillips, who wants to know what really happened to her late husband. Travers takes the case, and the result is a fun, lightweight time-travel mystery.

Smirk factor: All clear: 2.0 (1 smirk, used correctly.)

Immersion factor: Shallow water: 1 pt

Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt

Total: 7/10 (3.5 stars, rounded up to 4)

Electric Midnight is a solid second outing. Van Coops introduces some complex themes here, exploring identity and loss -- along with a time-traveling inn where Travers himself underwent a key life experience. The P.I. takes on the case of a murdered android, and finds himself enmeshed in a classic conspiracy, with layers of secrets.

Smirk factor: Acceptable-plus: 1.5 pt (7 smirks = 1 per 45.7 pages)

Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt

Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Total: 7/10 (3.5 stars)

In The Clockwork Game, Van Coops sends time-traveling private investigator Greyson Travers into one of the mystery genre’s great tropes: a murder mystery on a remote island in a house featuring a collection of guests who may or may not be who -- or what -- they appear. Throw in time-travel twists, and it’s a fresh take on a classic situation. The setting clicked with me a little less than the other books -- I kept expecting Hercule Poirot to show up through the portal at the end.Travers does his usual best to unravel a lethal mystery in an entertaining tale.

Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (3 smirks = 1 every 68.7 pages)

Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt

Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt

Total: 7/10 (3.5 stars)

Wrapping up the four book “Paradox P.I.” series, Tomorrow Detective has private investigator Grayson Travers trotting through time in chase of stolen gold, assorted low lifes, an enemy from his distant past -- and a kidnapped love interest. At the end, there’s a tantalizing clue about more possible adventures...although at the time of writing this one is the end of the line for the series.

Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (2 smirks)

Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt

Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts

Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt

Total: 7/10 (3.5 stars)

““The key to most “isms” is not being a d*ck about it,” I said. “The rest is practice.””

— Travers, practicing being good.

Van Coops writes with a light hand, and the stories generally unfold quickly and smoothly. Like any good gumshoe, there is more to Travers than meets the eye. The same is true of the case he takes on, and Van Coops uses the ins and outs of time travel to good effect in the story. This was a quick, easy and entertaining read.

Altogether solid, above-average entertainment. This is a kind of niche specialty (pulp-esque time travel sci-fi mysteries) but this series is a great advertisement for it.

Average values across all four books:

Smirking: 1.875, Immersion: 1, Writing: 1.5, Development: 1.5; Innovation: 1.125.

Total: 7/10 (3.5 stars, rounded to 4)

“This series is a lot like the glass of very young white wine I finished off while sitting on my porch on a spring evening writing these reviews — light, well-made, mildly flavored and...okay, no, the books did not have a pleasant aroma of green apples or a faintly mineral-ish finish. But they were pleasant, a great addition to the moment, and an experience I’m glad I took the time to explore. ”

— Me, from my Goodreads review of "Tomorrow Detective" *

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