Stage Fright (The Jimmy McSwain Files, #3) By Adam Carpenter

A review by The Blogger Girls.

Jimmy is back on the case, or cases, as is usually the case. :D

This time, the owner and long-time friend of the theater where his mother works has hired him to help find out who is behind the mysterious threatening notes being left for the director of the new show that’s about to open. What a tangled web that is. In the middle of it all is the return of Jimmy’s ex, Remy, the costume designer.

Remy and Jimmy obviously have quiet a past, but thankfully, Jimmy is pretty adamant about keeping it there. In the meantime, he still has strong feelings for the sexy Captain Frank. What a precarious relationship that is. They have such a connection, but there are so many reasons in the way of it becoming more. Not the least of which is Frank’s closeted status. There is also the fact that Frank took out the man Jimmy believed held an actual clue into his father’s murder, which he is determined to get to the bottom of.

Jimmy burns the candle at both ends again, trying to work the paying case while things potentially heat up surrounding his father’s. I love spending time with Jimmy. The way this story reads, it’s as if we are right along side him as he makes his way around the City tracking clues. All of the sex, and there isn’t much, is mostly off-page, and while I always wish to see more of Jimmy getting hot and heavy, I really didn’t miss it too much as the rest of the story takes over.

Jimmy fits into a different category than the types of stories I normally read, and every time one comes out, I’m excited to get back on the case, nose to the grindstone. I want answers for myself and for Jimmy. I want him to find peace and happiness and to finally get some closure on the event that has scarred and affected him so deeply for so long. I have no idea how long that will take, but I’ll be ready when the next installment of the Jimmy McSwain Files comes out.
Adam Carpenter I am really liking this series. I like the author's voice. Jimmy is smart, no nonsense, and good at doing things on his own. He's solitary but not emotionally detached. The mystery was entertaining, if a bit dramatic at the end when the killer is revealed, but more interesting was the bits and pieces added to Jimmy's Forever Haunt - his investigation of his dad's death. And the scenes with Frank were great...those two have a lot of chemistry. Adam Carpenter
A review by The Blogger Girls.

Jimmy is back on the case, or cases, as is usually the case. :D

This time, the owner and long-time friend of the theater where his mother works has hired him to help find out who is behind the mysterious threatening notes being left for the director of the new show that’s about to open. What a tangled web that is. In the middle of it all is the return of Jimmy’s ex, Remy, the costume designer.

Remy and Jimmy obviously have quiet a past, but thankfully, Jimmy is pretty adamant about keeping it there. In the meantime, he still has strong feelings for the sexy Captain Frank. What a precarious relationship that is. They have such a connection, but there are so many reasons in the way of it becoming more. Not the least of which is Frank’s closeted status. There is also the fact that Frank took out the man Jimmy believed held an actual clue into his father’s murder, which he is determined to get to the bottom of.

Jimmy burns the candle at both ends again, trying to work the paying case while things potentially heat up surrounding his father’s. I love spending time with Jimmy. The way this story reads, it’s as if we are right along side him as he makes his way around the City tracking clues. All of the sex, and there isn’t much, is mostly off-page, and while I always wish to see more of Jimmy getting hot and heavy, I really didn’t miss it too much as the rest of the story takes over.

Jimmy fits into a different category than the types of stories I normally read, and every time one comes out, I’m excited to get back on the case, nose to the grindstone. I want answers for myself and for Jimmy. I want him to find peace and happiness and to finally get some closure on the event that has scarred and affected him so deeply for so long. I have no idea how long that will take, but I’ll be ready when the next installment of the Jimmy McSwain Files comes out.
Adam Carpenter I don't think that this one is up to par. It read a lot like Hidden Identity with the entitled rich and their disenfranchised children right down to the limo driver. It was interesting to read about the theater with its ins and outs. Welly was a memorable character as was Isolde. Adam Carpenter Stage Fright
By Adam Carpenter
Four stars

The third of the Jimmy McSwain detective stories brings us back to the familiar streets of Broadway and Hell’s Kitchen in New York, where Jimmy grew up and where his mother has worked as a head usher for twenty years.

Jimmy is still haunted by the murder of his policeman father fifteen years earlier, when he himself was just a teenager. As is Carpenter’s pattern in this series, Jimmy’s ongoing effort to unravel the mystery around his father’s killing is the underlying plot counterpoint to this book’s primary mystery. Both stories are personal for Jimmy in this installment: Wellington Calloway, owner of the theater where Jimmy’s mother works, enlists Jimmy to solve an unnerving mystery surrounding the upcoming opening of a new play—Triskaidekaphobia—on which he has staked the finances of the theater. Jimmy finds himself deeply involved in the private relationships of this rich New York family, whom he’s known from a distance most of his life because of his mother’s association with the Calloway Theater.

Once again we meet the handsome, ambitious and closeted police captain, Francis X. Frisano, who is destined to play a complicated role in Jimmy’s life. In spite of the deep connection these two men have, it seems that the tension between Jimmy’s obsession with his father’s death and Frank’s obsession with his career will always be a hurdle to any sort of ongoing relationship. Carpenter builds their bond again in this book, but adds still more impediments as Jimmy moves closer to his dream of solving his father’s murder.

Carpenter’s writing style is almost tongue-in-cheek noir, evoking the likes of Sam Spade while presenting Jimmy as a young gay man totally comfortable with his sexuality. Jimmy’s love of the gritty streets of New York, along with his ability to step into the elite world of Manhattan without hesitation, makes him interesting and admirable. There is plenty of the romantic potboiler in Carpenter’s writing, and I love that Jimmy is truly a romantic, because it mitigates his sadness and his resistance to having a relationship. He sees the beauty in his emotionally compromised situation. He loves his mother and sisters. He loves Frank Frisano, too, but that’s just part of the pain.

I really like this series. Can’t wait for book four.
Adam Carpenter

Adam Carpenter à 3 free download

All the world's a stage, but in STAGE FRIGHT, Hell's Kitchen private detective Jimmy McSwain learns that life upon it's wicked boards can be a killer.

The Harold Calloway Theatre on West 47th Street is home to the new play Triskaidekaphobia, and its playwright has been receiving threatening messages. Theatre owner and lead producer Wellington Calloway has hired Jimmy to investigate, but it's a case not without its complications. His mother is the head usher there, and Jimmy grew up on its aisles. His ex, Remy, is also the costume designer for the show, a man he hasn't seen in years. Further making his life difficult is the mysterious Seetha Assan, who is connected--albeit tentatively--to the case that forever haunts Jimmy--his own father's murder. She may just have the clue to help him finally solve the cold case.

As Opening Night for the play looms, Jimmy finds himself involved in a nest of egos and personalities, all while seeking to find the missing Seetha. Toss in his on-again, off-again relationship with Captain Francis X. Frisano, and suddenly Jimmy's life is edging toward tragedy. That's when a murderer strikes, and suddenly nothing is pretend anymore. Life on the stage has turned all too real, and all too deadly. Just like on the mean streets of Manhattan.
Stage Fright (The Jimmy McSwain Files, #3)

3.75 stars rounded up

In Stage Fright, book #3 in The Jimmy McSwain Files series, P.I. Jimmy McSwain is hired by T. Wellington “Welly” Calloway, owner of the Calloway theater, to find who has been sending Casey Crais (writer of the upcoming play, Triskaidekaphobia) threat letters. On the other case, Jimmy is contacted by the sister of Rashad Assan, who killed Jimmy's father fifteen years before, who gives further clues that may be, his father is stumbled into a conspiracy within the NYPD...

I enjoyed this third Jimmy McSwain book better than the previous two. Jimmy wasn't consumed as much with his father's case this time -- probably because the murderer has been killed in the previous book. Although there seems to be a bigger conspiracy at play, but I felt that it didn't take the front seat.

I liked the case involving the theater people. At first it was only about the threatening letters -- I totally guessed the case right! -- but then someone was murdered, on stage!! So that upped the ante a bit. I also guessed where this one case went ... though I didn't expected the twist related to the victim.

It seemed that Jimmy and Frank's relationship now hit the full stop. I kind of expected it, with Frank's unwillingness to come out at work, and his ambition to reach the top. But I couldn't deny that I liked Jimmy and Frank together. There was this melancholic tenderness throughout the book and of course, I was a sucker for that.

Will definitely check out book #4 :) Adam Carpenter A Brilliant, Sexy Mystery

Jimmy McSwain is back, still haunted by the mystery of his father's killing. This has to take a back seat when the head of the Calloway Theater, and his mother's boss, needs to find out who is sending death threats to the author of the theater's newest play. If that's not enough on his plate, Jimmy is presented by his sometime lover , with the sister of the man who might have killed his father.

Once again Adam Carpenter has woven a sexy, tight mystery. It's filled with complex characters, and an abundance of twists and turns that kept this reader glued to the story. His imagery of New York made me feel like I was a native and not just a visitor. I thank the books gods that I found this series. Adam Carpenter 2022 Audio review
I listened to this while on vacation and didn't write a review immediately after, which I KNOW is a bad thing to do. BUT, while I can't remember specifics on the story, I CAN say I enjoyed it. The audio is well done, and this series is one of the first in which I heard Joel Leslie narrate so for me, this story is tied to him. I am seriously enjoying this series and I like Jimmy as a character, his family is crazy in a good way, I don't know what to expect on his relationship with Frank but look forward to seeing how it all plays out. Not sure if this series is complete, but my library has a lot (possible the rest) of the series in audio and I plan to keep going. Just wish there was more time in the day to listen.

I can't remember this mystery of this story or what I thought - I only remember a little about Jimmy and dealing with his ex and Frank.

Audio 4.5 stars
Story 4 stars Adam Carpenter ***3.5 - 4 Stars***

Okay, I slashed my way through the lush forest of chest hair (see my status update for more details here), ignored the sometimes a bit flowery writing aaaaaaand... actually enjoyed the story. I want to see Jimmy finally be with Frank (goddammit, these two really test my patience sometimes...) and the case of Jimmy's father's death solved, soooo... on to the next! :) Adam Carpenter Audiobook review

4,5 stars

We are back in Hell’s Kitchen where Jimmy McSwain has gotten a new case. Threatening messages has been sent to the playwright of a new play opening soon on The Harold Calloway Theatre. It’s a place filled with memories of the past, god and bad ones and it’s not without some complications. His mother is the usher, and his ex is the costume designer for the play. However, this isn’t the only case Jimmy is working on. He’s also searching for any and all clues that will lead to the identity of the one that killed his father some 15 years earlier. It’s a case that’s been cold for years, a case the police has buried for years. A case Jimmy can’t let go of. So when the sister of the man that was killed in a shoot—out a few months earlier turns up, Jimmy doesn’t waste time figuring out everything that she knows about that night so long ago when his father was gunned down.

I’m loving these books, everything about them really. They’re gentle in a way, nothing over the top, nothing rushed. Everything is allowed space, to be examined from different angles and to evolve; relationships and evidence alike. Like the previous ones, this book isn’t a romance. It’s more of a police procedural with the occasional romantic interlude. I’m loving all of it, love the balance of it all, it makes me want to come back for more.

This book was performed by Joel Leslie, and it was a great performance. Just like always he has a great pacing that fits well with the story. His wide range of voices makes it easy for the listener to follow along the story, knowing who speaks and keeping the different characters apart. He also captures the feel of the moment, the sense of place and it enables the listener to travel to Hell’s Kitchen, to Jimmy. We also feel his desperate search for answers, to solve his “Forever Haunts” case.

Stage Fright could probably be read as a standalone, as each new book follows a new case. On the other hand both of the previous books will give insight to Jimmy and his family, make you more invested in their lives and fate. But it will also enable you to pick up on a clue or two on the Forever Haunt, following Jimmy’s desperate search for answers. This book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger as such, but more on the note that more will follow in the lives of Jimmy McSwain and his family. And it’s a tale that I’m eager to follow.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Adam Carpenter