Fabier Investigations by Jason R. Hemmings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Romantic Mystery, PI Detective
Case 1: After the Rain – A woman hires Alex Fabier to find out who is trying to kill her. Sam is the owner of a boutique that is in financial troubles. A woman comes up in the investigation that has ties to Alex’s past and the death of his wife. Jade’s background unveils that she and Sam were best friends in college. Is his client the innocent woman Alex thinks she is? In attempts to keep Sam out of harms way, he takes her to Savannah, the Smokey Mountains, the Bahamas, and France, however at every turn Jade is one step ahead of them. Nothing will stand in Jade’s way of what she is after, not even murder. Can Alex put a stop to her before she causes any more tragedy?
Case 2: Shadow of an Angel – A young woman believes that she was adopted and hires Alex to find out who she was and where she comes from. Alex feels a pull toward this young, lost girl and offers for Lauren to come stay at his house while he investigates. He senses a kinship with her and her need of a friend as much as answers she seeks. Alex knows that her her father is keeping secrets about the past and he needs to keep digging to find what those are. Using the few memories Lauren has and an old tutor found in Key West, Alex follows the breadcrumbs to St. Thomas. When the truth finally comes out, will Lauren be able to live with it?
Case 3: Rendezvous – Alex’s dearest friend receives a letter that may be from his wife who was presumed dead. In the days Giovanni was in the CIA, his wife was kidnapped. During a failed rescue attempt, she was shot, although her body was never recovered. Giovanni will only trust Alex to find out the truth, is Lana still alive as he had always hoped or is this some terrible ruse by someone out for revenge. The letter sends them off to California, to a Hollywood producer’s house party. There they find just another letter with another direction. But there is someone there waiting for Alex, the Silent Shadow has returned for revenge and to even the score. As Alex and Giovanni follow their scavenger hunt from California on to France, an old flame from Alex’s past shows up. He must make a choice, remain in the present with his loyal companion or dive back into the past that is so tempting.
Case 4: The Girl from Yesterday – Alex’s in-laws come to visit him at his home in the Bahamas and ask him to solve the 20 year old murder of a friend’s daughter. The daughter of a movie star, was thought to have been murdered by her husband at the very cove right next to Alex’s house but there was no evidence to prove it. When he and his friend Rachel find a necklace and a bullet in the coral, he starts to have his suspicions of what had taken place. Alex heads to California to begin his investigation but someone wants to keep the past in the past. Alex narrowly escapes his Ferrari that has caught fire from a gunshot to the fuel tank. A murdered daughter is not the only tragedy this 50’s starlet has faced. A husband and a sister had both come to untimely deaths. Is there more to those deaths than realized? A trip to London may be key to solving this mystery, but is this one mystery that Alex wants to leave buried?
Case 5: East of the Sun – Rachel’s sister Susanne was murdered in a robbery in Mauritius. One of the stolen items was an ancient talisman, rumoured to have the power to restore life. Alex has 7 days to find and bring the talisman to an old and wise Chinaman who claims he knows how to use it to bring Susanne back. Before they can move to help Rachel and Susanne, they need to finish the case they are already on, rescuing a woman from the clutches of Russia’s secret service in Switzerland. The CIA promised a new identity in exchange for valuable information she had. A jeweler involved in the rescue also heard a tip for Alex on the whereabouts of the missing talisman. The team heads to Singapore. There is more waiting for Alex in Mauritius than a possible resurrection, what awaits for him is a ghost from the past. Would he and Rachel like the answers to their prayers?
Case 6: Desire for Diamonds – Alex goes to Rio in search of a massive diamond for a friend. Thomas had a diamond mine but was betrayed by his partner. He wants Alex to go take what is rightfully his. There, Alex finds two diamonds, the other a woman named Isabella. After successfully rescuing both diamonds, their previous owner is not about to give up that easily. Bringing Alex only danger and heartache, making him ask himself if is was worth it and if Isabella is as trustworthy as he hopes she is?
A series of short detective stories. The tone is a quiet sadness as Alex still mourns for his late wife. We could all be so lucky to be loved by someone that much. His self reflection on being able to move on from her death is continuous throughout the series. Rachel loves him and has been his best friend for years but will he ever be able to love her back, like she deserves, like he loved Kate.
“Rachael already was a special part of my life. Maybe I just needed more time before I allowed it to become anything else, but she understood that.”
“Giovanni could tell I was distant, as I looked at the lake that was sapphire blue in colour, with white swans gliding across its surface. He asked me what I was thinking about. I told him I was remembering one time I went fishing with my uncle. We were talking about my aunt. He said he hoped I would find someone as special as her one day. He said to be loved by someone like that, was like being touched by the caress of an angel and that feeling came with you, even when they were not there. I never really understood that until I met Kate; then I knew. Her touch came everywhere with me too; even now.”
“Somehow the summertime always seemed to leave teardrops of regret on the first autumn leaves, as it said goodbye. In the same way, the expression on a young lady’s face I bid farewell to, held at least one of those teardrops somewhere close to her smile I would not forget. To find out the answer to her question meant the world to her, but whether it was quite what she was looking for, I guessed I would never know.”
“Somehow, Kate’s memory still left me lost when it came to love.”
“There was another reason for not saying those three little words; I was afraid of losing her, like everyone I loved. I guessed no one ever really knew how long they would have together, but for me, it had never been long enough.”
“She was like sunshine, after the rain. All evening long, she kept gazing deep into my eyes and somehow left a few raindrops of regret there for those missing words.
And yet, one last regret made me wish I had known Rachael before Kate. It would have made everything so much easier. But then, never knowing Kate would have been far more of a regret. It was still better living in the shadow of two angels, then having none at all.”
“The clock on the mantle in the living room seemed to tick a little slower than usual this morning; almost like it was thinking of another time and another place. I knew I was. I was lost in Kate’s portrait; the one above the mantelpiece. Being with Rachael last night had left me feeling guilty, when I thought of Kate this morning. It was foolish perhaps, that I had never let go of Kate’s memory, even after all these years. But then, why should I? If Kate were standing next to me right now, nothing would have changed. The love I felt for her, seemed to grow even more every day since she left and that went for the desire to be with her again too. “
I really enjoyed this book. It is not your typical action packed detective novel, it has a more old fashioned style to it. Luxury, Jazz, and beautiful locations fill the pages. Appropriate for all ages, this is about romance and the sexual aspects are suggested only, there is no foul language either. It was easy to just slide into this world and get swept away by the beauty and poetic nature of it.
“Snowflakes are beautiful things. Each one is individual, much like people; each one brings beauty, like icy petals in winter. Their time is brief, as are so many things in this world and their gentle delicacy is often lost without notice.”
