Review - Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips

Rob Phillips’ debut Stakeouts and Strollers introduces us to Charlie Shaw, a former reporter who decides to try his hand at being a PI after a layoff. Charlie is also exhausted as he’s a new father and since his wife is the main breadwinner, he is taking responsibility for caring for their daughter who doesn’t seem to need to sleep.

Charlie has been assigned a routine case: tail a woman whose millionaire husband thinks is cheating on him, but when Charlie sees the woman’s lover being beaten up by some thugs and realizes a teenage girl is staking him out as well, he wonders if something bigger is going on. The girl thinks the thugs have something to do with her father’s disappearance, and Charlie feels an obligation to help her when she shares that her mother has recently died.

Although the title of the book could imply that this is a cozy mystery, it is not, and I would classify it as a traditional PI procedural. I gave this 4.1 stars for strong writing, plot and characters and would recommend for anyone who likes their procedurals mixed with family dynamics.